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MODERN DIABOLISM; 



COMMONLY CALLED 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM: 



WITH NEW THEORIES OP 



LIGHT, HEAT, ELECTRICITY, AND SOUND. 



BT 



M. J. WILLIAMSON. 







NEW YOI^K: 

PUBLISHED BY JAMES MILLER, 

No. 647 BROADWAY. 
IS'ZS. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in. the year 1873, by 

M. J. WILLIAMSON, 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



tOVEJOT, SON A CO., BTKUEOTYFEBS, 15 VANDEWATKB ST. 



PREFACE. 



In the year 1867 a work written by the author of this, 
entitled "The Invisibles: An Explanation of Phenomena 
commonly called Spiritual," was published anonymously in 
Philadelphia- 

That work professed, as does this, to be based upon informa- 
tion received from another world. It will be perceived, on 
reading the introductory narrative of the present work, that 
at the time the former was written, it was extremeUj difficult for 
the writer to procure the needed information; consequently, 
the work was not, even to the author, entirely satisfactory. 
The same difficulty, to some extent, has existed in the prepara- 
tion of this work; but communication having become less 
difficult than formerly, and having received additional informa- 
tion, I decided to rewrite the former work, with the addition 
of such matter as would further explain the subject. 

The narratives relating and explaining my own experience 
in the investigation of this subject to the date of the former 
publication, are — with an exception which will be hereafter 
stated — substantially the same in this as in the former work. 
The explanations of phenomena, and the reviews of other 
narratives bearing upon the subject, are also substantially the 
same. The brief description of the other world given in this 
work is here original; as are also the new theories of Light, 
Sound, etc., and the criticisms on the popular theories of these 
phenomena. 

The exception above referred to, or difference between the 
narratives given in this and the former work, is this: — In the 
former work I carefully avoided giving any clue to the identi- 
ties of the individuals of the other world who had been guilty 
of deceptions in their communications with me. It was very 



IV PREFACE. 

difficult for me to believe that these individuals had become 
such lying creatures; and I thought it possible that if com- 
munication was less difficult, some explanation might be given 
Tvhich would make their course appear less reprehensible. 
Having now learned, as I am convinced, aU the important 
facts in the case, I see no reason why I should so carefully 
conceal the identities of these parties as to make the narrative 
appear like a fiction; especially as I have not hesitated to 
state that a relative of my own was one of the worst liars of the 
party — a fact, by the way, of which I was not aware when I 
wrote the former work. 

In this work I have, therefore, stated such facts relative to 
these individuals, designated by initials, as were necessary to 
make the narrative intehigible; whether these facts make tho 
individuals generally known to the readers of this work, or 
not, is a matter of indifference to me. It is somewhat un- 
fortunate that, for reasons which will be apparent on reading 
the narrative, I must conceal the identity of the individual 
who, of the male persons, has communicated most frequently 
with me; and whom I have designated by the title of Count. 
A knowledge of the identity of this person would make the 
narrative clearer; still, I think the facts which 1 have given 
will make it, so far as relates to him, at least intelligible. 

My reason for publishing the former work anonymously was, 
of course, that I did not wish to be known as a " medium; " I 
wished to avoid being requested to serve as such for com- 
munications to others, and also to avoid discussion of the sub- 
ject, either with Spiritualists or those who beheve the pheno- 
mena to be mere jugglery. The same reason for withholding my 
name stiU exists; but such withholding would now be useless; 
the narratives as now writteu would make the writer known to 
many of his acquaintances. Aside from this, however, as in 
some newspa]per notices of the former work it was insisted, 
and perhaps with good reason, that the author's. name should 
have been given as a voucher for such an extraordinary narra- 
tive, I had decided to give it in the present work. 

The new theories of sound, light, etc., herein presented, 
should, and 1 hope will, be examined without reference to the 



PEEFACE. V 

source from which I profess to have have received them, I 
profess to have received them since I commenced writing this 
work, or less than six months since; and therefore have not 
had much time for considering them. Still, I have given to 
them as much thought as to those which I have criticised ; 
and, while I readily perceived what to me seemed fatal defects 
in the latter, I do not perceive such in the former. But any 
theory of light requires for its demonstration experiments 
which I have no means for performing; I must, therefore, 
submit this for examination to those having such facilities. 

These theories, I am well aware, do not harmonize with the 
belief of many — whether most, or not, I am unable to state — 
scientific men of the present day as to the nature of sensation. 
Sensation, and all the phenomena producing it, are now ex- 
plained as being simply motion; sensation being, as I under- 
stand the theory, motion of particles of the bi'ain. The 
theories I have received assume that all our sensations are of 
an electrical nature; and that electricity itself is not simply 
motion, but a substance; the theory of electricity differing but 
little from the single fluid theory as formerly held. The 
nature of sensation cannot, of course, be demonstrated; but 
the theory that it is motion — not a very satisfactory theory 
considered by itself — appears to have originated from the 
belief that all the phenomena producing it are simply modes 
of motion. I think if the belief had not been held that these 
phenomena are simply motions of particles, the idea would 
never have occurred to any one that sensation was such. Why 
theories of these phenomena are given in a work of this kind, 
is explained at the close of the introductory narrative. 

I think most persons who have thoroughly and candidly 
investigated the phenomena generally tenned spiritual, whether 
they became satisfied as to the origin of the phenomena or not, 
have, Hke myself, felt some disgust at the attitude assumed, in 
reference to the subject, by a certain class of, so-called, 
scientific men. The terms " science " and " scientific " have 
been made to play a very sorry part in this matter. 

It has so happened that, in criticising the wave theory of 
sound, and the dynamical theory of heat, it has been a matter 



Tt PREFACE. 

of convenience for me to review briefly tlie published kcturea 
of one of these "scientific men." No criticisms of such non- 
sensical lectures, delivered by a professor of natural philos- 
ophy, could, under any circiimstanees, be too severe; but the 
language now employed is not such as was originally written, 
nor such as would now be used but for the supercilious attitude 
assumed by this professor, in connection with others of his 
class, toward all who express their belief in the genuineness 
of these phenomena. 

When a crack-brained professor, having no knowledge of 
the subject, chooses to publish to the world his " despair for 
humanity," because people who have investigated the subject 
persist in believing the evidence of their senses, I do not feel 
called uj)on to be very guarded in my language when review- 
ing his idiotic lectures. And it does not appear to me prob- 
able that a man who is so ignorant on subjects which he 
professes to have made a study, can be so peculiarly gifted as 
to be able to decide authoritatively relative to phenomena 
which he has not investigated at all. 

In this work I have used the words deatli and died, which 
Spiritualists carefully avoid, because they are generally under- 
stood, when applied to a human being', as referring only to 
the death of the body; and I can see no propriety in using 
several words to express a fact when one will equally well serve 
the j)urpose. On the other hand, I have, at some inconven- 
ience, avoided using the tf^rm spirit or spirits, except when 
copying or reviewing other writings: for, as the inhabitants of 
the other world are not spirits, as the word is generally under- 
stood, the term, when appUed to them, necessarily conveys a 
false impression. 

It will, I trust, be understood that I give the somewhat 
lengthy narratives of my own experience in this matter solely 
for the purpose of illustrating the subject. I am as sensible as 
any one can be that, aside from this single object, they are not 
worth reading. The main object of this work is to explain 
what is termed Modern Spiritualism — a designation, however, 
which I now think a false one — and I have thought that a 
pretty full account of my own experience — a very unusual one 



PREFACE. VU 

from causes stated — would aid in making the subject under- 
stood. 

I would here say a few words which in a work of a 
different character would be inappropriate. It will be under- 
stood, on reading the introductory and explanatory narratives, 
that, as at present situated, I should decline any request to 
serve as a medium for communications to others. But I wish 
to make it also understood that I should decline any discus- 
sion of the subject. I wish to avoid, as far as possible, talking 
or ildnJcing about it; the reason for which will, I think, be 
perceived on reading the explanatory narrative. 

I have, in this work, given aU the information upon the 
subject which I am, at present, capable of giving. If, after 
reading the work, Spiritualists conclude that I have myself 
been deceived, and still think that they can receive communi- 
cations from departed friends through the mediums, they, of 
course, can and will continue to visit them. If, on the other 
hand, others continue in the belief that no communications 
are, or can be, received from any of another world, and con- 
clude that this work is the product of " nervous derangement," 
"reflex action of the brain,'' or something of the kind, they 
can continue to publish their "scientific" theories for the 
benefit of others; I only wish to say that any attempt to con- 
vince me that such is the fact would be a useless waste of 
time. 

These remarks — ^more especially those referring to the latter 
class of individuals — prompted by past experience, are here 
made for the purpose of avoiding the necessity for any appar- 
ent rudeness hereafter. 

New Yobk, Odober, 1872. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapteb 

I. Intkodttctobt Nabkative 

n. InTBODTJCTORY NaRBATITE CONCIiXJDED 

m. Explanation of Above . 

IV. Explanation of Above Concluded . 

V. Modern Spiritualism 

VI. On the Wave Theoby of Sound, and a New 

Theoby of Same 

Vn. On the Dynamical Theory of Heat 

Vm. On the Undulatoby Theory of Light . 

IX. New Theobies of Electricity and Heat . 

X. A New Theoby of Light 

XI. On Another World and the Change at Death 

XH. Explanations of Phenomena 

Xm. Beview of Narratives . . . 



Page 
11 

62 

81 

122 

143 

165 
182 
194 
212 
216 
227 
239 
262 



MODEM DIABOLISM. 



CHAPTER L 

rNTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 

One evening, in the year 1858. I received an invita- 
tion to accompany a party of acquaintances to a seance 
with a so-called spiritual medium. At this time 1 knew 
very little about spiritualism. I had accidentally, on 
two or three occasions, witnessed table-tipping, but, so 
far as I could perceive, the " mediums " moved the ta- 
bles precisely as any ordinary mortal would have done ; 
and the answers to questions put by individuals pres- 
ent — which answers were limited to a simple affirmative 
or negative — appeared to be as often wrong as correct 
In short, they were such silly attempts at imposition, 
that I did not myself think it worth while to ask any 
questions or make any investigations. Still, I did not 
conclude, as many do under such circumstances, that 
because what I had witnessed were silly attempts at 
imposition, all the phenomena reported as having been 
witnessed by intelligent individuals were of the same 
character. The time of which I am now writing was 
about ten years after the commencement of the Roches- 
ter knockings, sc called ; and what little I had heard 



12 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

upon the subject had produced a vague impression on 
my mind that, in the presence of certain individuals, phe- 
nomena did occur which were not yet fully understood. 
But I concluded that if spirits had any agency in the 
phenomena, and were able to communicate by means 
of the " raps," as pretended, something would have 
been communicated tending to establish the fact ; and 
I had neither read nor heard anything of the kind. 

The medium at the seance above referred to was Mrs. 
Brown, a member of the celebrated Fox family ; and 
she, as I am now convinced, was the first real medium 
I had seen. On this occasion I witnessed phenomena 
which puzzled me, and excited suf&cient interest to 
cause my further investigation. I, therefore, visited 
Mrs. Brown alone, as I could thus more satisfactorily 
investigate the phenomena. I also visited other me- 
diums, and sat in "circles" with acquaintances who 
were also interested in the s abject. There is such a 
uniformity in these phenomena, and they, have been 
so often described, that I shall not detain the reader 
with a repetition. It will be sufficient to state that I 
became fully convinced the phenomena occurring in 
the presence of Mrs. Brown, her sister, Miss Fox, and 
some others, were genuine, and not jugglery ; and that 
is all of which I was convinced. I was unable to ar- 
rive at any conclusion, satisfactory to myself, as to the 
origin of the phenomena. 

The fact that sounds resembling raps were heard, 
and furniture moved, without any visible cause, did not, 
of course, necessarily indicate that spirits had any agency 
in the matter ; but there was a certain degree of intel- 
ligence manifested, independently of the medium, for 



INTRODUCTOKY NARRATIVE. 13 

which it was difficult, if not impossible, to account upon 
any other hypothesis than the presence of invisible 
beings. On the other hand, there was not sufficient 
intelligence manifested to warrant the assumption that 
any one possessing the intellect of a rational human be- 
ing was an agent in the matter. The idea at once nat- 
urally occurred to me, that if the disembodied spirits 
of human beings were the agents, the spirits could ex- 
plain how they produced the phenomena. But I was 
unable to obtain any rational explanation ; and on con- 
versing with Spiritualists, those who had " invest-igated," 
as they stated, for years, relative to this point, I found 
they had not even a sensible idea upon the subject 
They had an undefined theory that the raps were, in 
some way, caused by discharges of electricity ; and as 
for the moving of furniture, they found, as they said, 
no difficulty whatever in understanding it. " Spirit 
moves ponderable matter when you raise your arm," 
they said ; " why, then, can't a spirit move a table ? " 
I felt it would be a hopeless task to seek information 
from such people, and soon abandoned the investiga- 
tion, without having satisfied myself any further than 
as above stated 

The question was suggested to my mind whether 
there might not, after all, exist such beings as the de- 
mons once believed in, and described in the New Tes- 
tament ; and who, through their connection with indi- 
viduals of our world, learned so much of the English 
language as to be able to spell out sentences ; but this 
idea was not seriously entertained. I now know, how- 
ever, that the idea was not very far from the truth ; 



1^: : MODERlSr DIABOI^ISM.': 



but the demons are men and women, once inhabitante 
of our world- 

Another idea which, occurred to me was, that certain 
individuals of the invisible world, and only these, might 
have the power of producing the phenomena through 
certain individuals of our world ; and that all the com- 
munications purpoi-ting to be from departed friends of 
the visitors, might be made by one, or more, constantly 
with the medium. But this theory appeared unsatis- 
factory, for the reason that I could perceive no induce- 
ment for such beings to remain constantly with the me- 
dium. If the communications had been of a nature 
calculated to work evil in the recipients, then I could 
have perceived a motive for the personations ; but they 
were, so far as I had any knowledge, not calculated to 
produce any result, either good or bad. Aside from 
the "tests " relative to identity, occasionally given, the 
communications were mere platitudes, having sach an 
air of uniformity as almost to appear like sentences 
given off by machinery. Now, I could not conceive 
that the disembodied spirit of a man or woman — assum- 
ing such to exist — would stay with a medium day after 
day, waiting for some visitors to whom these platitudes 
might be communicated. 

In the autumn of 1863, having no particular occupa- 
tion for my evenings, I determined again to try if I 
could not settle the point in my mind as to whether the 
phenomena were caused by beings of another world ; 
and I may as well confess that my object was to satisfy 
myself that we continue to exist after the death of the 
present body. 

Mrs. Brown was now married, and not a public me- 



rNTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 15 

dium. ; Miss Fox I was also unable to see, as she was 
unwell ; I visited two or three mediums, but the result 
was even more unsatisfactory than mj former investi- 
gations. Having been told by, or through, one of these 
mediums that I would receive more satisfactory com- 
munications direct, by sitting alone in my room, than 
through others, I concluded to try this plan. The mode 
of communicating, I was told, would be by writing with 
my hand. I, therefore, sat at a table in ray room, hold- 
ing a pencil on paper, but could not perceive the slight- 
est tendency in my hand to move in any direction. 
Partly by accident, however, I discovered that if I 
moved my hand as passively as possible, there was a 
slight foreign influence exerted upon it, guiding it either 
to the right or left The influence was veri/ slight, al- 
most imperceptible; but by watching it closely, and 
permitting my hand to be guided by it, letters and 
words were formed. To write a word or a name was, 
at first, a difficult and tedious task ; one great difficulty 
being that my hand would sometimes move backwards, 
or from right to left. The first name — and in fact the 
first words — written, was that of an intimate acquaint- 
ance who died at Cleveland, Ohio, my former residence, 
a little more than a year previous. 

In the hope that the writing would become less diffi- 
cult, I sat, for a short time, nearly every day for the 
purpose. For some time nothing but names were writ- 
ten, most of these being the names of former residents 
of Cleveland- Of the decease of most of these individ- 
uals I had learned, but not of all ; nor do I now know 
whether all whose names were then written had left 
our world, or not ; some of them not having been inti- 



16 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

mate acquamtauces of mine. Some of the names were 
not written correctly, being apparently spelled in ac- 
cordance "with the prouunciation. 

Several days after I had commenced sitting, the name 
" Ella" was written, and repeated continuously, nothing 
else being attempted during the sitting. The same was 
repeated the next day ; I could get nothing written but 
" Ella," although I requested that Ella would let some 
other person write. As I never had any intimate ac- 
quaintance, so far as I could recollect, of that name, I 
ceased sitting for communications. About a month 
afterward 1 again sat down to see what would be 
written, when, to my great vexation, the name " Ella" 
was again given. Then I concluded to endeavor to 
ascertain who this Ella was. It would, at this time, 
have been tedious, if not impracticable, to have an ex- 
planation written out ; I therefore asked questions to 
which a simple affirmative or negative would be an 
answer. In this way, after asking several questions, I 
learned that Ella claimed to be a sister of mine. It 
then occurred to me that the last four letters of 
Isabella, the name of a deceased sister, formed the 
name Ella. The former name was then written, and 
on asking this person pretending to be my sister, if she 
had forgotten her name, she replied that she had. This 
was, upon any hypothesis, the more inexplicable from 
the fact that the name of this sister was correctly given 
at Mrs. Brown's during my former investigations. 

In the succeeding spring the facility in writing had 
become such that short communications were given. 
But it was still a tedious process ; not more than one 
brief communication being, as a rule, written at a sit- 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 17 

ting As soon as it became feasible to write sentences, 
one individual appeared to have the entire control. 
This person gave the name of, and pretended to be, an 
acquaintance of mine who died at Cleveland more than 
twenty years previous. He was an educated gentle- 
man ; this invisible being, pretending to be him, was 
an illiterate and vulgar creature ; the sentences being 
generally ungranimatical, and the language coarse. 
All my efforts to induce this person to let others write 
were ineffectual. 

In May, 1864, I left New York for Trenton, New 
Jersey. On resuming my sittings at the latter place, 
the communications for several days all purported to be 
from soldiers who had lived in that vicinity, and who 
had been killed or died from sickness during the war. 
They wished, as was stated, to send messages to their 
friends through me, but I took no steps to ascertain 
whether such persons had lived there or not 

On the evening of the fourth day after my arrival at 
Trenton, the name of a gentlemen who had boarded 
during the past winter at the same hotel in New York 
as mj^self, and whom I will designate as Mr. A., was 
written. As I had seen the gentleman the day pre- 
vious to leaving New York, this purported to have been 
a very sudden death. But as Mr. A. had recently re- 
ceived a severe injury, from which he had not entirely 
recovered when I last saw him. and the statement, in 
reply to my inquiry, being that he had taken a severe 
cold, which, in connection with his injury, had caused 
his death, the suddenness of the death did not seem so 
very improbable. 1 put a few questions to test the 
identity, though not expecting to be convinced by the 



18 MODEBN DIABOUSM. 

answers, as I could only put questions the correct 
answers to which I knew, and I was aware that the 
personator, if it was such, might obtain the answers 
from my mind. But the next morning I found New 
York papers, and examined the obituary notices from 
the date given as that of the death, which was the day 
following that on which I left New York, without find- 
ing any notice of the death of Mr, A. 

A day or two afterward I was visited by one giving 

her name as Ellen ; the surname T could not 

read, and, as she did not pretend to have been an ac- 
quaintance, did not ask to have it rewritten. This 
Ellen appeared to have no definite object in coming. 
She was excessively vulgar ; admitted having lived a 
depraved life in our world ; said she was the same kind 
of a woman now, and had no intention or desire to re- 
form. The one claiming to be Mr. A. continued to 
visit me and assert the identity ; and for two or 
three days he and Ellen performed all the writing. 
Then Mr. A., as I will continue to designate this vis- 
itor, made what seemed to be a very good suggestion, 
namely, that I should not permit Ellen to write — that I 
should stop as soon as I detected her vulgar style, 
which I could generally do as soon as a few words were 
written. 

At the sitting when the above suggestion was made, 
Mr. A. stated that he had brought a young lady who 
had been an acquaintance of his in our world, and who 
wished to communicate with me. The young lady 
then gave her name as Miss Annie Allen. She stated 
that Mr. and Mrs. A. were acquaintances of the family 
of which she was a member^ that the latter resided at 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVEL 19 

No. 84 East Twenty -second street, New York, and that 
her father was a banker, dealing in foreign exchange 
The name of the firm of which her father was a member 
she could not give, nor the precise location of the office, 
though she said the latter was in one of the streets near 
Wall street Subsequently she gave what she thought 
was the name of the firm, one I had never heard of. 
Miss Allen appeared to have no object in visiting me, 
other than to unite with Mr. A. in urging that I would 
send a letter from the latter to Mrs. A., which I had no 
intention of doing until I had learned of his death from 
some other source. 

Shortly after the first visit of Miss Allen, one giving 
Iher name as Mrs. Arnold came. She had lived and 
died, as she stated, at South Bend, Ohio. I told her I 
was a native of Ohio, and that I was quite confident 
there was no such place in the State. She, however, 
insisted she was correct, but was unable to state where 
South Bend was located, further than it was upon some 
river. This female also continued to visit me, ap- 
parently without any definite object in view. 

After being urged for some time to permit a letter to 
be written to Mrs. A., I recollected that there was an 
acquaintance of Mr. A. then in Trenton, who would 
probably be advised of the death if it had occurred, 
and I concluded to inquire of this gentleman when I 
met him. Miss Allen then said that she had been ac- 
quainted with this gentleman ; and a day or two after- 
ward she informed me that he was then in the street 
near my hotel, requesting me to go out and make the 
inquiry. I should state, to make this understood, that 
at this time these iri visible beings could write with my 



20 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

hand about as rapidly as I could by the exertipn of my 
own will ; and they were able to make me understand 
that they wished to write something when I was not 
sitting for the purpose. This intimation was given by 
producing the sensation of being taken by the hand by 
some one. At the time I was requested to go out and 
make this inquiry I was not sitting for communications, 
but feeling the signal that some one wished to write, I 
granted the request. 

Not seeing the gentleman when I went out of the 
hotel, I was informed in the same way that he had 
gone into a bank in the same street ; and a gentleman 
soon came out of the bank who, as intimated, was the 
one thought to be the acquaintance of Mr. A. There 
was considerable resemblance in the two individuals, 
though not a very striking one, and this gentleman was 
several years younger than the one I was looking for. 
On returning to the hotel Miss Allen urged me to go 
to that in which the gentleman was boarding, and make 
the inquiry. I told her that if she would go to his 
hotel and ascertain thai he was in I would do so. I 
had no reason for supposing that she could do this, 
other than what had just occurred. She replied that 
she would go, and in a few minutes, feeling the signal, 
I was told that she had been to the gentleman's hotel 
and saw him there. I asked her what the gentleman 
was doing, and she replied that he was sitting at a 
small form, but that she could not see, or did not notice 
—I do not recollect which phrase she used — what he 
was doing. This hotel was in a street crossing that 
in which mine was situated, and the distance between 
the two hotels — following the streets — was about one 



INTRODUCTOEY NARRATIVE. 21 

hundred and fifty yards. I went to the hotel and 
looked in the two prmcipal rooms without seeing the 
gentleman ; then passed out, but stopped at the door to 
let Miss Allen write. She wrote thar the gentleman 
was in a small room in the rear of the one I last looked 
in. Entering this small room, I saw a gentleman, the 
only person in the room, seated at a small plain desk, 
reading a newspaper. This individual did not at all 
resemble the one I was looking for, and was as much 
older as the one first mistaken for him was younger. 

Two or three days afterward I met Mr. A.'s acquaint- 
ance, and made the inquiry, but without telling him 
how I had heard of the death. He said the report was 
not true : that he had just returned from New York, 
and when there called at Mr. A.'s office to see him, when 
he was told that Mr. A. had just gone out. 

To my great surprise, the invisible being claiming to 
be Mr. A. still insisted that he was that individual, and 
gave the following as an explanation of the mistake of 
this acquaintance : He said he had a cousin in New 
York of the same name (surname) as his own ; that 
when his acquaintance inquired for him, the one of 
whom he inquired must have supposed his friend knew 
of his death, and thought the inquiry was for his cousin. 
I was no longer urged to send a letter to Mrs. A. until 
I had learned of the death of her husband ; and I could 
perceive no possible motive in urging me to satisfy my- 
self as to the fact if the death had not occurred. Fi- 
nally, although still suspecting that it was a persona- 
tion, I wrote to the proprietor of the hotel in New York, 
and learned that Mr. A. was still boarding thera 

This terminated, for a time, the communications of 



22 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Miss Allen; but Mrs. Arnold continued to visit me. 
She said that the individual who personated Mr. A. 
was a man, and that she supposed he was Mr. A. ; that 
she had herself been deceived She stated what she 
now supposed was the object.in the deception ; but her 
explanation was not very lucid, and is not worth re- 
peating. 

About this time, which was the latter part of May, I 
became unwell, and stopped sitting for communications ; 
in fact, I had pretty much stopped before this, as few 
visited me at Trenton but these women, and I could 
learn nothing from them. During this illness, how- 
ever, I acquired the faculty of hearing these beings. 
At first the sensation did not resemble sound, but was 
rather as though words were, in some way, impressed 
upon my mind Gradually this sensation changed, and 
soon became the same as hearing one of our world 
speak. 

A short time after I had been advised by the person- 
ator of Mr. A. not to let Ellen write, I had received two 
or three electric shocks which I was told at the time were 
caused by Ellen; in fact, the statement to this effect 
purported to be by Ellen herself; and the reason for 
causing the shocks was stated to be my refusal to let 
her write. These shocks caused me considerable un- 
easiness and apprehension at the time, though they were 
not renewed. But during my illness, and after I had 
become able to hear these beings, I was awakened one 
night by feeling a hand grasping my throat and trying 
to choke me; at least, such was the sensation. As 
soon as I awoke, Ellen said she was the one performing 
thisj and that she intended to choke me to death. I 



INTRODUCTORy NARRATIVE. 23 

soon perceived, however, that she could not affect my 
breathing, and, aside from the annoyance, cared little 
about it. This attempt to choke me was renewed dur- 
ing the two or three succeeding nights, and was an 
annoyance, as it prevented me from sleeping soundly. 
I found that I could stop it by placing my hands 
around my throat, but, as I could not keep them there 
when asleep, I concluded the best course would be to 
pay no attention to it, and try to make Ellen believe 
that I cared nothing about it ; though she asserted that 
she would persecute me while I lived, and torment me 
in my " dying agony." 

A short time after the above annoyance commenced, 
I awoke in the middle of the night with a violent pal- 
pitation of the heart, and feeling that my limbs were 
partially paralyzed. Ellen said, as soon as I awoke, 
that she had been operating upon the action of my 
heart while I was asleep, and that if she had had one 
hour more — that is, before I awoke — " she would have 
stopped its beating forever." This, I confess, frightened 
me. The attempt at choking, after I became satisfied 
she could not compress the windpipe, merely annoy e:l 
me, as a similar attempt of a child would have done; 
but this operation upon my heart I could not under- 
stand ; and the idea that this creature might have 
power to affect its action while I was asleep, was hor- 
rible. The violent palpitation continued, and on the 
two succeeding nights when I went to bed Ellen said 
she should renew her operations as soon as I fell asleep. 
On the fourth evening, about bedtime, Mrs. Arnold, 
who continued to visit me, said that if I would sit up 
awhUe she would bring my father and other male 



124 MODERi^ DIABOLISM. 

frietidg, and that if Ellen did not then leave they would 
kill her. In a short time I was told she had brought 
mj father and a former male acquaintance, and I was 
directed to fix ray mind intently upon the former. It 
was the warmest night of an unusually warm summer, 
and I should not have slept much if I had gone to bed. 
I did not intend, however, to sit up vefy late, but I 
dozed in the chair, and it was daylight when I went to 
bed. I was then told that Ellen had been killed. Al- 
though too sleepy to think much about it, I noticed 
that her talking had ceased, and I never afterward 
heard anything purporting to be spoken by her. 

About a week after the above affair, and when I had 
nearly recovered my health, I was visited by one who 

said his name was M , and that he was formerly 

president of the M Bank, in New York. I had been 

engaged in the banking business in New York, but was 
not acquainted with the officers of this bank. I thought, 
however, that I recollected the name given as being that 
of one of the officers, but whether president or cashier I 
could not recollect. I had not heard of the- death of 
either officer, and on inquiring of the visitor, he stated 
that his death occurred in the year 1860 or 1861—1 am 
not certain which of these dates he gave. He said that 
when in our world, he had been somewhat interested in 
Spiritualism, and had, to some extent, investigated the 
subject ; that since he had left it, he had visited several 
mediums, but that I was the first one he had found with 
whom he could communicate. On asking him how he 
had found me, I noticed some hesitation in the reply, 
but finally, he said that my sister had told him about 
.me._. ...-...-■^-v ;.cv-^ .■ ..'--■i '-'-' 'v' ^- .^ov -. v--^- -• 



rNTRODUCTOBY NARRATIVE. 25 

On the succeeding evening this individual came again ; 
but in the meantime I had examined a bank-note re- 
porter and found that a Mr. M was then president 

of the M Bank. On stating this at the second 

visit, the visitor said that the directors of the bank had 
t<^ld him, before his death, that they would continue his 
name as president, whether he was alive or dead, and 
he supposed they were doing so. This reply did not 
indicate much knowledge of banking ; however, per- 
ceiving that he understood me to refer to the reports, or 
st,atements of the bank, I told him that what I had ex- 
amined was commonly called a counterfeit- detector. He 
then said that it must be his son who was president; 
that he had a son who was a director of the bank, and 
who must have been elected president, though he had 
not supposed he would be. This visitor had not, at 
this time, given his first name, and I believe I did not 
tell him the first name of the president ; he afterward 
gave his, which was not that of the president. 

By this time, which was four or five weeks after T 
had gone to Trenton, I had become convinced that if 
any relative or acquaintance had visited me at all, they 
had more often been personated by others. As I have 
stated, as soon as it became feasible, in New York, to 
write sentences of any length at one sitting, one illiter- 
ate individual appeared to be able to prevent all others 
from writing. In Trenton, the only visitor, previous to 
my illness, pretending to have been an acquaintance, 
was the personator of Mr. A. During my illness T was 
visited, as represented, by my sister and other friends ; 
but I was not then in a condition to take any steps to 
satisfy myself as to the identity. These visitors spoke 



26 MODEEIsr DIABOLISM. 

of foraier residents of Cleveland, but mostlj of per- 
sons wIlo had died or left the place when I was quite 
young, and whom I had almost forgotten. Mrs. Arnold 
now admitted that she had frequently personated my 
sister ; but as she did not pretend to have ever lived 
in Cleveland, her personation did not account for the 
knowledge evinced of that place. T had received no 
communication from any one pretending to be a rela- 
tive or acquaintance for some time previous to the visit 
of this late bank president, as the individual styled 
himself 

This Mr. M., as I will designate the visitor, stated 
that I differed from all other mediums ; and that people 
of his world who could not communicate with any 
other medium could do so with me. He urged me, 
therefore, to go to New York and act as a medium for 
communications to wealthy individuals ; stating that 
I could make more money in that way than in the 
business in which I was engaged : and he wished me to 
permit him to act in some way — how, I did not inquire 
— as a manager of the business. He also stated that 
he had engaged Miss Allen to remain with me, and pre- 
vent, in future, the personations which had been prac- 
ticed. Now, this Miss Allen, it will be recollected, had 
been connected with the personation of Mr. A., since 
which I had heard nothing from her ; but Mr, M. said 
she had been drawn into that by others, and much 
regretted her connection with it ; and that as she had 
become so much en rapipori with me, it would be better 
to engage her for the purpose than to bring another 
person. 

As I had been unable to learn anything abont the 



INTRODtrCTORY NARRATIVE. 27 

other world from the females, I attempted to do so from 
Mr. M. ; but he wished to postpone entering upon that 
subject until I went to New York. I told him, how- 
ever, that I should not act as a public medium ; that 
I intended to pass the coming winter in New York, 
and would, perhaps, serve, in a few instances, evenings. 
With this he was obliged to be content ; but said he 
wished to have some one of our world interested in the 
matter, and would like to make arrangements at once 
for this pur230se. He requested, therefore, that I 
would permit him to write, through me, a letter to a 
gentleman in New York, and have a reply sent to me 
at Trenton. This I refused, recollecting the recent at- 
tempt to have me send a letter to Mrs. A,; and although 
Mr. M.'s communications differed very much from those 
of the personator of Mr. A., I was not satisfied that he 
was the late bank president. 

At one of the visits of Mr. M. — to state the matter in 
its sequence — I asked him if he had met in the other 
world a Mr. W., late a prominent New York banker, 
with whom I had been slightly acquainted. This Mr. 
W. died four or five years prior to the time of which I 
am writing ; and it is unnecessary to state why the visit 
and conversation of Mr, M. recalled the former to my 
recollection. Mr. M. replied that he had not met him, 
and asked when he died, thus intimating that he had 
not been aware of his death. The name of Mr. "VV. 
was not again mentioned until as will be hereafter 
stated. 

At another time Mr. M. brought, as stated, a large 
party to see me. I was told the party consisted of 
about forty persons; but the names of only five were 



28 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

grven me. These were Howard, the English philan- 
thropist; DaboU, author of an arithmetic; Dudley M., 
of whom I knew very little; Mr. T., late president of 
a New York bank, who died the preceding winter ; and 
Mr. K., late a New York stock-broker, with w:hom I 
had been acquainted — rather a queer collection. 

Dudley M. I knew nothing about, further than that 
he was a resident of one of the Southern States ; but I 
had seen in a newspaper, at the commencement of the 
late war, a statement that he had gone to Europe as an 
agent of the Southern Confederacy. On mentioning 
this, I was told that he died in Paris. 

The death of Mr. K. occurred in the preceding sum- 
mer ; but not having been in New York at the time, 
I did not learn of it until autumn, when I was told 
that he had committed suicide. He inquired if I had 
heard of his death, and I repeated to him what I had 
been told. At this he professed, at first, to be very in- 
dignant, asserting that his death was accidental. Be- 
fore the meeting adjourned, however, he confessed that 
he had committed suicide in consequence of pecuniary 
embarrassment; but as the gentleman who gave me the 
information was not an acquaintance of his, and knew 
very little about the matter, he requested that I would, 
when next I went to New York, ascertain whether his 
acquaintances believed that he had committed suicide. 
My business called me frequently to New York, and I 
promised to make the inquiry, which I did, and learned 
there was no doubt that such was the fact 

I had not sufficient confidence in the identity of the 
individual claiming to be the late bank president to give 
my address to any one to whom he might wish to write ; 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 29 

but. finally, I consented to send his letter, and call for 
an answer in New York. Accordingly, one day, about 
the first of July, I held the pencil for him to write, as 
he seemed to prefer this course to dictating orally. I 
had not previously been informed, or inquired, who the 
letter would be written to. It was addressed to David 

A. L , and reminded him that he and the writer 

had together investigated Spiritualism about four years 
since ; stated that the latter had at last found a medium 
through whom he could communicate ; and inquired if 
he, Mr. L., would not co-operate with him in what he 
was about to undertake. The letter was signed, "Jos. 

M , late of the old M Bank." Mr. M. did not 

state definitely what the undertaking was, or what co- 
operation on the part of Mr. L. was desired ; nor did he 
state anything, beyond the fact of their having investi- 
gated Spiritualism in company, calculated to make Mr. 
L. believe in the genuineness of the letter. When the 
name of Mr. L. was written, I thought I had seen it 
with the prefix of Reverend; and on asking Mr. M. 
about this, he said he believed M'r. L. had been a cler- 
gyman, but that he was not now usually addressed as 
Reverend, and directed me to omit the title. This let- 
ter I enclosed with a copy, fearing Mr, L. would not 
be able to read the original. 

A few days afterward I went to New York, accom- 
panied by Mr. M., and called for the answer, but re- 
ceived none, at which the latter expressed great sur- 
prise. Mr. M. then requested me to go into Wall 
street, and I visited, with him, several places, one of 
which was the M- — - Bank ; but it struck me as a little 
singular that he ^id -nothing about visiting the latter 



30 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

until I asked him if he wished to go there. Then he 
replied, " yes, go there next." On leaving the cus- 
tom-house Mr. M, inquired what bankers and stock- 
brokers I was acquainted with. I named, among 
others, a prominent banking firm in Exchange place. 
Mr. M. requested me. to visit this firm and en 
gage the senior member in conversation on business 
topics, saying he wanted " to hear him talk." I entered 
the office, and, after conversing a few minutes with the 
banker, Mr. M. said, '' Ask him if it is my son who is 
now president of the M Bank." Eather thought- 
lessly I put the question as requested, asking the banker 

if the Mr. M. now president of the M Bank, was 

a son of the former president. The banker replied, 
" Why, it is the same man — there has been no change ;" 
from which I inferred that no president of the bank had 
recently died, and that this was another silly persona- 
tion now ended. But on leaving the office, the invisi- 
ble person, still claiming to be Mr. M., asserted that the 
banker was mistaken, and requested me to make an- 
other inquiry. In "Wall street I met another banker 
of my acquaintance, and, putting the question properly 
this time, learned that a president of the bank had re- 
cently died, but that his name was H , and that 

Mr. M,, the present president, was formerly cashier. 
On learning this, which he did without my repeating 
it, the personator of Mr. M. seemed to be really con- 
fused. He said, " We will have to give it up, won't 
we, sir?" — a remark I could not understand, as I could 
perceive no room for doubt that he would have to give 
up personating Mr. M. He said he was going to leave, 
and bid me good-by in Wall street. 



INTEODUCTORY NAERATIVE. 31 

I supposed this personation had ended like that of Mr. 
A. ; and it was impossible for me to perceive any amuse- 
ment in such deceptions- But on th 3 same evening, 
while I was sitting on the piazza of the hotel at Tren- 
ton, tbis invisible being came again. He now said that 
he had forgotten what his name was in our world, but 

that he had been " home " and learned it was H . 

I reminded him that on leaving the M Bank, he 

said he saw his son there. He replied, " "Weil, I sup- 
pose I must have been mistaken about that, too." He 
expressed himself gratified at finding me so calm ; said 
that if he was in my place he should be in a terrible 
passion ; and only requested that I would suspend my 
judgment as to his being Mr. H. until I went to New 
York in the autumn, when he would fully satisfy me. 

As to suspending my judgment, it made no particu- 
lar difference, so far as I could perceive, whether I did 
or not ; but as Miss Allen continued with me, and talked 
as though she expected me to act as a medium when I 
went to New York, I told her that I should not do so, 
even if I became satisfied that this visitor was Mr. H ; 
for, if they forget their former names, they certainly 
could not satisfactorily identify themselves to their 
friends in om- world. To this she replied that Mr. H!. 
was a singular man in that respect ; that she could rec- 
ollect every incident of her former life, and that most per- 
sons of her world could do the same. But she added that, 
as they had now discovered how forgetful some persons 
were, when I acted as a medium, every one who came 
to communicate would be cautioned to refresh their 
memory before coming, and, consequently, there would 
occur no more mistakes of the kind. 



32 MODERN BPABOLISM. 

Mr. H., as I will now designate this individual, yis- 
ited me occasionally after this, but without urging me 
to take any further steps in reference to acting as a 
medium ; everything being postponed until I went to 
New York to pass the winter. At one of these visits 
Mr. H. inquired of me as to my acquaintance with Mr. 
K., the stock- broker, who, it will be recollected, he had 
brought to see me. He said that Mr. K. had repre- 
sented himself as having been an intimate acquaint- 
ance of mine before either of us went to New York to 
reside. This, I informed Mr. H., was not the fact, stat- 
ing the commencement and nature of our acquaintance. 
He then said that in consequence of the representations 
of Mr. K. as to our intimacy, it had been decided to 
have him connected with the business — that is, in some 
way connected with my agency as a medium. — but that 
he had known Mr, K. in our world, and considered him 
then a great rascal ; that he was now " a poor misera- 
ble creature," and, therefore, as I said he was- not an 
intimate acquaintance, he would have no connection 
with them. Miss Allen subsequently spoke of Mr. EL, 
in reference to his present character, in the same terms ; 
but how she happened to know anything about him 
she did not state, and I did not inquire. 

About the middle of July I went to Long Branch. 
In the morning of the day I left Trenton, Miss Allen 
said she was not going with me, but that she should 
go there in the evening ; and before I left, Mrs. Arnold, 
from whom I had not heard since about the time of 
the first visit of Mr. H, came and said that she was to 
accompany me at the request of Mr. H. 

When informed, in New York, of the death of Mr. 



INTBODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 33 

H., I made no inquiry as to the date, presuming that 
ended the matter ; but when again in New York, on 
my way to Long Branch, I made this inquiry of a bank 
cashier, and was told that the death occurred in the 
year 1860 or 1861, the cashier was not certain which 
of these dates was the correct one. I also learned that 

a Mr. H. was a director of the M Bank ; but 

whether a son of the former president, or not, I did 
not learn, and have not since inquired. 

On the boat I was annoyed by a man of the other 
world, who talked like one of the lowest and vilest 
class of ours. Whea I requested him to leave me, he 
replied, *' D — n you, sir, do you know that I could pick 
you up and throw you overboard?" During the suc- 
ceeding night at Long Branch I was farther annoyed 
and prevented from sleeping soundly by this person's 
constant talking. I heard nothing from Miss Allen 
this first night, but in the morning she came, and 
accounted for her absence by saying that she thought I 
was going to Newport, and that she had gone there. 
The annoying talker continued with me, talking in the 
same coarse style, all this second day. Miss Allen said 
there were three men present, and that the object of 
their visit was to induce me to act as a medium for 
them, instead of Mr. H. I never could distinguish any 
difference of tone, or quality, in the voices of these in- 
visible persons, and therefore could not tell whether 
there was more than one or not ; but the repeated and 
silly threats to kill me did not indicate much expecta- 
tion that I would act as a medium for them. 

When I went to my room, the second night after ray 
arrival, I perceived that I was again to be prevented 



84 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

from sleeping by this talking. Miss Allen then said, 
that if I would go out and walk awhile, fixing my mind 
intently on her, she would hill these three men. This, 
taken literally, was rather a strange proposition. I had 
not been able to learn the nature of the operation by 
which I had, as I supposed, got rid of Ellen. It had 
never occurred to me when Mr. H. was present to make 
the inquiry of him, and neither Miss Allen or Mrs. 
Arnold would make any other reply to my questions on 
this point, than that she bad actually been killed. 
Whatever the operation might have been, I believed 
that by means of it I had been relieved, either of Ellen's 
presence, or from her power to annoy me if she was 
present. I judged so, not merely from the fact that 
physical annoyance had then ceased, but also because T 
had since heard nothing purporting to be spoken by her. 
And I inferred, also, that the action of my mind, or will, 
must have had an important agency in affecting the 
deliverance. 

It being a fine moonlight night, I went out and 
walked on the bluff, thinking as directed, until Miss 
Allen said two of the men were killed, and the other 
had left. I then returned to my room, when the talk- 
ing was as incessant as before ; but Miss Allen afiirmed 
that those now talking were not the three men, but 
females. No further attempt was made to kill any one, 
and, after this night, I suffered no farther annoyance 
during my stay at Long Branch. But Miss Allen in- 
formed me that, as her talking increased the power of 
others to talk, she would thereafter make her commu- 
nications by writing. And from this time there was 
constantly some one with me who appeared to be acting 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 35 

m opposition to Miss Allen, and interfering when the 
latter attempted to communicate. Miss Allen said this 
was a female who came the second night after my 
arrival there. Mrs. Arnold, on the second morning, 
said she was going to leave me, and I never afterward 
heard anything from her. 

At Long Branch I did not sit for the purpose of 
receiving communications, in fact I had ceased doing 
so before leaving Trenton ; but at the former place I 
would occasionally be told that a visitor from the other 
world was present One of the names thus given me 

was that of Mary M , an individual I could not at first 

recollect, and, finally, only remembered having heai'd 
when quite young, of the death of such a person at 
Cleveland. She had no communication to make, and 
appeared to have merely come fi'om curiosity. Another 
visitor there was an acquaintance who died in New York 
the preceding spring, and whom I will designate as 
Mr. B. Before leaving Trenton I had been told Mr. B. 
would be associated with Mr. H. in the proposed busi- 
ness ; that he had left his family in rather needy cir- 
cumstances, and wished his daughter — a young lady I 
had met several times, but with whom I had not much 
acquaintance — to be associated with me. The idea I 
received was, that it was still expected I would be in- 
duced to act as a public medium ; that, as I would be 
visited by ladies, it would be proper there should be a 
lady present to receive them ; and that Mr. B. wished 
his daughter to have this position. It was. as repre- 
sented, to converse upon this subject that Mr. B. came 
to see me at Long Branch ; but, according to my recol- 
lection, there was very little said about the matter. 



86- - MODERN DIABOLISM. 

About tlie middle of August I returned to Trenton ; 
and on the third of September came to New York, with 
the intention of remaining here during the autumn 
and winter. Mr. H., who had not visited me at Long 
Branch, now came, but made an excuse for not attempt- 
ing to identify himself, as promised, of the difficulty in 
communicating, owing to the interference of the female 
who had followed me from Long Branch. It really 
seemed to be difficult at this time even for Miss Allen 
to communicate ; whether she exaggerated the difficulty 
or not, it was impossible for me to determine. This 
female had become somewhat of an annoyance to me, 
and Mr. H. stated that steps were being taken to have 
all such interferences and annoyances prevented. 

Qn the 14th of September I was obliged to return to 
Trenton. Before leaving New York I was assured 
by Miss Allen that as soon as I returned I would be 
relieved of this female. This word relieved^ which was 
subsequently often used, and which for brevity I will 
also use, meant sometimes one thing, and sometimes 
another. Sometimes it meant the removal of two 
females ; sometimes of three ; sometimes of only one ; 
sometimes it meant they were to be removed bodily, 
and by force ; at other times, merely that their power 
of annoyance and interference was to be overcome, it 
being stated that those of the other world had no power 
to move each other against the will. 

I returned to New York on the 29th of September, 
and again excuses were offered for the delay in remov- 
ing this female. All doubts as to the individual repre- 
senting himself to be Mr. H. being a personator were 
soon removed from my mind, and I also soon became 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVK 87 

convinced that Miss Allen had never lived in New 
York, as represented when she first visited me. And I 
now doubted whether I had received a single commu- 
nication from a relative or friend in the other world. 
Whether this was owing to the fact that my friends 
knew nothing about my situation, or that being with 
me they were unable to communicate, I had no means 
of determining. But, as the action of my will seemed 
to have great effect, I adopted the plan of sitting at a 
table, holding a pencil on paper, and thinking intently 
of a relative as being present, trying the effect with 
different ones. This Miss Allen urgently opposed, 
asserting that if she did not constantly exert herself to 
prevent, the other female would write, and thus her 
power would be increased. 

To induce me to stop this practice, my father, as rep- 
resented, was brought ; and, as tests of identity, several 
incidents were narrated which, at the time, appeared to 
me satisfactory. I was assured that I would soon be 
" relieved," and advised to wait patiently ; and when I 
requested that a period should be named within which 
I would be "relieved," this was done. But this time 
passed without my being " relieved," and I then con- 
cluded my father had been personated. The incidents 
given as tests of identity I had frequently thought of 
since their occurrence ; and, although I was not aware 
of having done so for many years prior to this time, I 
now felt it would be strange if my father happened to 
narrate only the same trivial incidents I had recollected. 
I concluded the incidents must have been obtained from 
my mind ; but inasmuch as I could not recollect having 



38 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

tlionght recently of tliem, how this was accomplished 
was to nie a mystery. 

I resumed the practice of sitting for writing ; for 
although I could perceive there might be some force in 
the argument urged against it by Miss Allen, I also 
knew that she was, for some purpose, attempting to 
deceive me, or she would have my friends brought, and 
permit them to communicate with me. Mr, B. next 
came, as represented, to induce me to be patient. 
Although Mr. B. was not an intimate acquaintance, I 
felt it would be some satisfaction to know that any one 
of the other world with whom I had been in the least 
acquainted had visited me, and I requested this visitor 
to identify himself For this purpose, he stated that he 
had visited me at Long Branch. I replied that that 
might be true, but how it identified him as Mr. B. I 
could not perceive. " Oh, well, I will satisfy you of 
that," he said, and narrated an incident which did satisfy 
me, for I felt confident this could not have been obtained 
from my mind. Mr. B. named another period within 
which I would be " relieved," which period also elapsed 
without anything being done. I then concluded Mr. 
B. must also have been personated ; but was completely 
mystified as to how knowledge of the incident related 
could have been obtained. I ought to have required 
more than one incident to be given ; but as the one pre- 
tending to be Mr. B., as soon as I appeared to be satisfied 
of the identity, commenced conversing on the subject 
of his daughter being associated with me, I neglected 
to do so. 

About the middle of November, my father, as repre- 
sented, came again ; but I instituted no further tests as 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 89 

to identity. Frivolous excuses were given for the 
delay, but it was now stated that I would certainly be 
"relieved" on or before the second Monday in Decem- 
ber. As the word relieved is so frequently used, I would 
state that at this time the annoyances caused by the 
female said to have followed me from Long Branch were 
not very great ; but her interference was assigned as the 
reason why none of my friends could communicate with 
me, further than to the extent of a very few words at a 
time ; and as, so far, I had learned absolutely nothing 
about the other world, and was not satisfied that any 
friend of mine there had communicated with me at all, 
I was desirous that this difficulty, or excuse, whichever 
it might be, should be removed. 

Several days prior to the expiration of the period last 
named, Mr. H., as this person still called himself, said 
it was desired that I should go to England as soon as 
" relieved ; " and a day or two after speaking of this he 
came again in the morning and informed me that a cer- 
tain individual, late of high rank in our world, and who 
died in England about three years prior to the time of 
which I am now writing, was coming to see me at an 
hour then agreed upon in the afternoon of the same day. 
The revelations made by this individual when he came, 
and which I am now informed were substantially correct, 
implicate persons now living in England as having been 
connected with him in the perpetration of a fraud of so 
very grave a character that I must suppress his late title, 
and will designate him as the Count. The Count was a 
German by birth, but married an English lady of high 
rank, and passed the last twenty years of his life in 
England. 



40 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Me. H., as for convenience I will continue to designate 
this individual, at his visit in the morning stated that 
the Count wished me to go to England as soon as "re- 
lieved ; " that it was desired Miss B. should go with me ; 
and that, as a matter of propriety, a lady would have to 
accompany her. Mr. H. wished that the daughter of a 
friend of his — a New York banker with whom I had no 
acquaintance — should be this companion ; but he pre- 
ferred that I should name the lady to the Count, when 
he spoke about the matter, as being my own selection. 
I did not like this proposition, and asked Mr. H. what 
he expected me to say in case the Count inquired if the 
lady was an acquaintance of mine, or why I proposed 
her. "In that case," he replied, "tell him that I 
suggested her." I saw no particular objection to this, 
and agreed to do as requested. 

The Count came at the hour appointed, and at once 
entered upon the subject of my going to England, of 
Miss B. going with me, and inquired who I would like 
to have accompany her. I named the daughter of Mr. 
H.'s friend — provided, of course, I went ; but, as yet, no 
reason for expecting me to go to Engla- d had been 
given. The Count said he got the impression from my 
manner that there was something wrong about this lady, 
and inquired as to my acquaintance with her. I told 
him that I had no acquaintance whatever with her, and 
that she had been proposed by Mr. H. The Count then 
expressed dissatisfaction with my course in the matter, 
when I told him he might as well drop the subject of 
my going to England, for that I had no desire to go. 
After a little delay, he said he had received the impres- 
sion from my manner that the lady was a bad character ; 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 41 

but that the matter had been satisfaetorilv explained by 
Mr. K 

The Count then made a statement, of which the fol- 
lowin<^ is the substance, given in as few words as 
possible: — Soon after his marriage he received an in- 
jury — the nature of which will be understood from 
what follows — for which he was under the care of 
surgeons about two years. During these two years his 
wife, with his assent, cohabited with another man. The 
first child of his wife is legitimate, the two second 
children are illegitimate ; the first is a daughter, the 
second a son, and the latter, therefore, is acknowledged 
as the heir. 

He then proposed that I should go to England, and, 
without making the facts generally known, make use of 
my knowledge of the same for my own benefit The 
utter absurdity and impracticability of the scheme he 
proposed, assuming his statement to be true, I did not 
at the moment perceive; for, in consequence of the in- 
terference of the unknown female, it was so difficult for 
him to write that, in order to enable him to do so, I was 
obliged to fix my mind intently on him, and could not 
think much about what was written. However, I told 
him that I should not enter into the scheme, when he 
expressed himself as being very much gratified with my 
decision ; and stated that he wished to have the facts 
made known, and the matter rectified as far as possible. 
As I was the only one of our world through whom he 
could communicate, he wished me to go to England and 
place him in communication with the widow, that the 
matter might be adjusted as peaceably as possible. The 
condensed statement I have given hardly explains why 



42 MODEKN DIABOLISM. 

I should be expected to go to England on this business ; 
but there is a fraud on the British nation connected with 
the matter, which I cannot state without naming the 
parties. 

The Count wrote for more than two hours, and until 
I refused to sit any longer ; he then made an appoint- 
ment for the next afternoon at the same hour. At the 
appointed hour he came again and wrote for about the 
same length of time as before, when I again told him I 
could sit no longer. Most of what he wrote was non- 
sensical and incoherent ; but the language indicated the 
writer to be an educated man ; the phrase educated fool 
will express with tolerable accuracy the impression I 
subsequently received from what he had written ; at the 
time of writing, as I have stated, I could not fairly 
exercise ray judgment. During the two sittings I fully 
believed the writer to be the Count ; and my impression 
that the writer was the person he represented himself 
to be was much stronger than it had ever been before 
when receiving a communication from one of these in- 
visible beings. This impression I was never afterward 
able wholly to shake off, though my judgment was that 
the visitor was another personator. 

When I inquired why he wished Miss B. to go to 
England, he replied, in substance, that he wished to 
have the matter adj usted without a resort to legal pro- 
ceedings ; that Miss B., by means which it is not neces- 
sary to state, was to prevail upon the eldest son to 
relinquish his rank and title. A few minutes before, 
he had expressed dissatisfaction at the idea of a female 
of doubtful character accompanying Miss B. At the 
first sitting he stated that the father of the two illegiti- 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 43 

mate children was a certain individual, late of high rank 
in our world, at this time in his, who accompanied the 
eldest son on a visit to the United States a year or two 
previous to the Count's death. At the second sitting 
he retracted this statement, and said, first, that as his 
wife had cohabited with several individuals during the 
two years, he could not tell who was the father ; but al 
most immediately retracted this statement, and said he 
would rather not give me the name of the father. At 
the first sitting he said his widow would soon give 
birth to a son of whom he was the father ; and offered 
me, as an inducement to go to England, the position of 
tutor to this baby, with a salary of eight thousand pounds 
per annum. That is, a boy of whom he was the father 
was to be born about three years after his death ; and as 
I was only requested to agree to remain m England four 
years, the child of whom I was to be tutor, with a quite 
liberal salary, would be about four years of age when I 
left. At the second sitting, an inducement of a differ- 
ent nature was offered, and the proposition was that I 
should remain permanently in England. What this 
second offer was it would be improper to state, especially 
as I am now informed it was made in good faith, and 
that otliers besides the Count believed the scheme to be 
practicable. The proposition appeared to me about as 
absurd as any other of his statements. No decision 
was expected of me until I had been relieved of the 
interfering female, and my friends of the other world 
had satisfied me as to the identity of the visitor, and 
that his proposal was made in good faith. 

During these sittings the interference was constant, 
and so great that, although each sitting lasted for about 



i_ 



4ft MODERN DLABOLISM* ;- 

two kQiirs, the amount of writing executed by tKe Count 
was small. Now, as it was stated that this female was 
to be removed, I could not understand why they did 
not remove her, at least for the time, when one of them 
wished to write ; and on this point I could get no satis- 
factory explanation. Miss Allen, in reply to my ques- 
tion as to why they did not keep the woman away fj-om 
me when they wished to write, said, " We don't pull and 
haul as you do," but would not attempt to explain what 
the nature of the operation, in effecting her removal, 
would be. 

The second sitting with the Count was on the San. 
day preceding the second Monday in December ; and 
the expiration of the last-named period within which I 
was to be relieved would occur on the latter day. I 
reminded the Count and Mr. H., who was also present, 
of this, and was told that my friends would come in the 
afternoon of the next day, and that the female would 
then be removed. On Monday afternoon, at the hour 
previously named, I was informed that several of my 
relatives were present ; and brief communications were 
written purporting to be by my father and mother. 
They gave no tests of identity, and I did not ask for 
any; but was informed that the removal would be ef- 
fected daring the night. I went to bed at my usual 
hour, and during most of the night was kept awake by 
talking and magnetic operations causing twitchings of 
the muscles and limbs, stated to be in some way con- 
nected with the removal of the female. In the morn- 
ing, finding she was not removed, I pondered long as 
to what could be the object of these invisible beings, if 
they bad any object in view, but was unable to arrive 



INTRODUCTORT NARRATIVK 45 

at any satisfactory conclusion. It appeared to me that 
they must have some scheme in view, but what it was 
I could not imagine. In the afternoon the Count came 
again, and stated that after I had been told in the pre- 
ceding afternoon the removal would be made that night, 
they had decided to postpone it, not being quite pre- 
pared, but on leaving had forgotten to inform me of 
the fact ; and he confirmed the previous statement of 
Miss Allen that the female, taking advantage of my 
expectancy, had produced the disturbance. There 
were contradictory statements during the night, which 
gave an air of plausibility to this explanation. 

A few days afterward, being in a public library, I 
examined the " Peerage of Great Britain " — I believe 
this is the title of the work — to see how certain state- 
ments made by the individual calling himself the Count 
compared with the facts. He had perceived about what 
age I supposed the Count to have been at the time of 
his death, and said that I was mistaken on that point ; 
but instead of stating in the usual manner his age, gave 
the date of his birth and of his death, which would 
make him, if the Count, to have been a younger man 
than I supposed. I knew nothing about the age of the 
Count, but knowing very nearly that of the widow, 
assumed the husband to have been, as usual, several 
years older. I found the dates given of birth and 
death to be correct, and that the Count and his wife 
were born in the same year. But other statements I 
found to be incorrect. I had somewhere seen it stated 
that the Count and his wife were cousins. This the 
visitor claiming to be the Count denied ; affirming that 
there was no blood-relationship whatever between him 



46: MODERN DIABOLISM. 

and his wife ; but the " Peerage " informed me that the 
Connt and wife were first cousins. The visitor claim- 
ing to be the Count stated that his wife had, in all, six 
children, of whom one had died ; but the " Peerage " 
stated the number of children to be more than six, none 
of whom had died. Of course I concluded the visitor 
was not the Count, but as he evidently knew something, 
and more than I had previously known, about him, and 
also about Englishmen, it seemed to me strange that he 
should not have informed himself, before undertaking 
the personation, of facts easily obtained, and as to which 
I could readily ascertain whether his statements were 
correct. 

Soon after the last visit of this individual. Miss Allen 
admitted that none of my friends had visited me, and 
said they did not know where I was. She still asserted, 
however, that the visitors claiming to be Mr. H. and the 
Count were those individuals ; and that they were en- 
deavoring to carry out a plan which would be for my 
benefit. The difficulty she now stated to be with my 
father, who had been informed I was a medium — though 
not where I was — and who wished himself to be man- 
ager. It would be much more for my benefit, she said, 
to let the Count have the management; and when I 
asked why my fiiends were not brought, and I per- 
mitted to decide for myself, she replied that it was 
desired to spare me the pain of deciding against my 
father, and that an arrangement would soon be effected. 
As I have stated, strange as it may seem, I never 
could entirely rid myself of an impression that the 
visitor claiming to be the Count might really be that 
individual ; but if the one claiming to be Mr. H. was 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 47 

not a personator he could easily satisfy me of the fact ; 
and Miss Allen eventually admitted that Mr. H. had 
never visited me, but continued to assert that the Count 
had. 

Since the night wlien 1 was to have been relieved, 
and was gi-eatly disturbed, the annoyances at night, 
though not so great as during the one named, wfere 
much greater than they had been from the time of the 
operation called killing Ellen up to that date ; and I 
soon began to feel very much exhausted and worn out 
from want of sleep. I received twice, at night, electric 
shocks which, for a moment, almost paralyzed me. I 
soon began to suspect that Miss Allen was engaged in 
creating these disturbances, notwithstanding her asser- 
tions that they were caused by the opposing female, and 
that she exerted her power to prevent them. 

The assertions now made by Miss Allen to the effect 
that my friends were unable to find me, were, of course, 
no evidence that such was the fact, inasmuch as she had 
previously asserted that they had visited and communi- 
cated with me ; and, thinking they might be present, I 
continued to sit occasionally for communications; my 
principal encouragement for doing so being the anxiety 
of Miss Allen to prevent the practice. 

One Sunday morning in May (1865), Miss Allen said 
the Count was coming to see me at three o'clock in the 
afternoon ; that she would have Mr. B. brought with 
him, and I might test the identity of the latter in any 
way I pleased ; her idea appearing to be that if I could 
be fully satisfied Mr. B. was connected with the party, I 
would "wait for their scheme to be perfected, and cease 
sitting for communications from my relativea The test 



48 MODERN DIABOLISM, 

of identity formerly given by one claiming to be Mr. B 
was still a mystery to me, and I now determined to ask 
questions, the correct answers to whicli I had never 
known. As I wished to ask only questions the correct 
answers to which I could readily obtain, it was necessary 
that I should think beforehand what they should be ; 
and I wrote out a few, the correct answers to which I 
could obtain with little inconvenience. 

But before the hour named had arrived. Miss Allen 
informed me that Mr. B. could not be present ; she said 
he thought that he had safficiently identified himself 
already, and that it would be inconvenient for him to 
come that day. The Count came, as represented, and 
with him Mr. W., the late banker, about whom, it will 
be recollected, I had inquired at Trenton of the visitor 
claiming to be Mr. H. As I had not since inquired or 
thought about him, and he was never an intimate ac- 
quaintance, I could not understand why Mr. W. should 
be brought ; and no particular reason for bringing him 
was given. In fact, neither Mr. W. or the Count 
appeared to have any definite object in this visit, and 
very little was written by either. The one claiming to 
be the Count said that, as I doubted his identity, he 
would, if I wished it, give me the name of the father of 
the illegitimate children of his wife ; but added that he 
disliked doing so, as the father was a relative of his wife, 
and it was, therefore, a painful subject. Giving me the 
name, or title, of some one who might be sach a father, 
would indicate nothing more than that this visitor had 
lived in England, or had some means of acquiring in- 
formation about Englishmen, as to which I was satisfied 



INTEODUCTOJaY . IJAREATIVE. - 49 

already ; I therefore replied that I did not care about 
the name being given. 

When the Count had finished, I was told that Mr. B. 
had come, and that I might test the identity. Mr. B. 
had retired from business some time previous to his 
death, and the first two questions on my list were, as to 
the number of his late place of business, and the name 
of his successor. It appeared to be so very difficult for 
him to write that, when T had obtained answers to these 
two questions, I concluded not to ask the others. The 
store was in Broadway, about one mile from my hotel ; 
and although I did not know the number, I knew the 
locality. On going to the office of the hotel and ex- 
amining the City Directory, I found that the number 
given was in the square next south of that in which 
Mr. B.'s store was situated, and that there was no such 
name as the one given at either locality. 

Some time previous to this I had discovered that these 
invisible beings were able to exert a powerful influence 
upon my mind ; and in the evening of the same day, I 
felt that, although nothing was spoken, this power w;as 
being exercLsed to make me believe there was, after all, 
something in this pretended scheme. Presuming this 
attempt to be by Miss Allen, I told her it was useless, 
when the influence instantly ceased. This will, doubt- 
less, a2:)pear very strange ; but such were my sensations, 
namely, that a foreign influence was being exerted to 
induce belief in something which my judgment decided 
must be false. 

Miss Allen then made a .lengthy statement, purport- 
ing to be a confession, the substance of which was, that 
her real name was Annie Morford; that she had "been 



50 - MODERlSr MABOLISM. 

acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. A. at Auburn, N. Y , 
and had visited me for the purpose of coinmunicating 
Mnth them, but had been drawn into the personations 
and deceptions by Mrs. Arnold ; that Mr. W., the 
banker, hearing of me, had, with his friend the other 
banker, whose daughter was to have accompanied Miss 
B. to England, invented a scheme which she stated, but 
which is too lengthy, as well as silly, to be here given. 
In attempting to carry out this scheme, she said, Mr. 
W. and the other banker had personated Mr. H. and 
the Count, neither of the two latter individuals having 
ever visited me. The failure of the scheme was owing to 
their inability to effect an arrangement with the Count, 
who had finally decided not to enter into it. Nothing 
was said as to how she had rid herself and me of Ellen, 
and it did not occur to me to inquire. She concluded 
by promising to bring niy father next morning at nine 
o'clock. 

In the morning a,s soon as I awoke, my mind reverted 
to the matter of the communication made the preced- 
ing evening, and I was not fully convinced that the 
Count had never visited me ; perhaps it would be more 
correct to say that the impression that he had visited 
me was very strong. Miss Allen — by which name I 
will continue to designate this female always with me 
— then said that her statement of the preceding even- 
ing was false ; and again asserted that the Count was 
endeavoring to carry out a plan which would be for my 
benefit. She requested that I would allow them three 
days more in which to complete the arrangements ; that 
is, that I would refrain for three days from sitting for 
communications* As my sittings had resulted in noth- 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 61 

ing, and were very tedious, I readily granted this re- 
quest, on the promise being given that at the expiration 
of the time my friends should be brought. The mode 
of communication this morning was by speaking ; but 
generally, at this time, and always when the commu- 
nications were lengthy, it was by writing. 

When passing down Broadway the day on which 
the above occurred, I looked for the number which had 
been given as that of Mr. B.'s store, and found that 
there was no such name as the one given at this num- 
ber; neither were the goods here dealt in the same 
as those dealt in by Mr. B. But I noticed over the 
entrance of an adjoining store a name resembling, 
though not the same as that given me ; and the goods 
here dealt in were also dealt in by Mr. B., but the 
latter dealt in two kinds of goods, this store in only 
one. 

And being in the public library a day or two after- 
ward, I had sufficient curiosity again to examine the 
*' Peerage " to ascertain what male relatives the wife of 
the Count had. I found that she had another first- 
cousin, of about her own age, residing in England, 
who, upon the unreasonable assumption that the story 
given me was true, must be the relative referred to as 
the father of the illegitimate children. 

On the evening of the succeeding Sunday, as my 
friends had not been brought, 1 determined to see if I 
could not learn something from the female opposing 
Miss Allen. I had nothing definite as to her appear- 
ance or idiosyncrasies upon which to fix my mind so 
as to aid her in writing against the opposition of Miss 
Allen ; but finally received the impression that she 



52 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

was a girl of fifteen or sixteen years of age. I learned 
nothing, however, from her. Some time previous to 
this, I had inquired why this female, who appeared to 
be opposed to the party with which Miss Allen was 
connected, did not bring my friends, and thus defeat 
their scheme ; and the reply was to the effect that she 
was not permitted to leave, being held a prisoner. On 
now asking her if this was true, she replied that it 
was ; and afS.rmed that if I would continue the writing, 
thinking of her, she would soon be able to release her- 
self, and would then bring my friends. Of course I 
could see no sense in the idea that writing would release 
her, or that, if a prisoner, she would be kept so near 
me as to enable her to interfere with Miss Allen and 
her friends. I therefore rose from the table as much in 
the dark as to what the plot could be, if there was any, 
as before. When I sat down for the purpose of getting 
information from this female, I began to feel an unde tin- 
able dread, or horror. It was not precisely fear, for I 
would have continued to sit if there had been any 
prospect of learning anything ; but appeared to be an 
impression which my will was unable to overcome. I 
supposed this feeling was produced by Miss Allen, and 
she admitted such was the fact. I did not get entirely 
over it until I had gone to bed and fallen asleep. 

As sitting for commimications from my friends had 
produced no result, I did not feel sure that the state- 
ments that they were unable to find me might not be 
correct. Whether there was so wide a difierence be- 
tween m jself and other mediums as Miss Allen and her 
associates asserted, or not, I did not know ; but I did 
know that one portion of their statements on this point 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 53 

must be true, namely, that only the lowest and most 
stupid class of their world could, communicate through 
other mediums. I presumed that I must have been 
seen by many of this class, as was stated, but had no 
reason for supposing that any of these would bring my 
friends. It occurred to me that some of the better class, 
although unable to communicate, might occasionally 
visit the most celebrated public mediums, owing to the 
interest they would naturally feel, knowing that their 
friends of this world visited them. I thought, there- 
fore, that I might, by visiting these mediums myself, 
through these casual visitors of the other world, make 
my situation known to my friends there, in case they had 
not found me. Whether, if they came, they would be 
able to remove the individuals with me, or to commu- 
nicate at all, I, of course, had no means of determining ; 
but I decided to make the experiment. About the first 
of June, however, I left for Trenton without having put 
this plan in execution. 

At Trenton I wrote a condensed narrative of the 
communications received from these invisible visitors 
from the time I commenced sitting for the purpose in 
the autumn of 1863. This narrative has been contin- 
ued up to the present time, and from it the one here 
given to the public is prepared. My purpose in writ- 
ing it up to the date above given (the summer of 1865) 
was, to compare the communications, and endeavor to 
satisfy myself whether the strange visitors had any 
scheme in view, and if so, what it was. But on review- 
ing the narrative, I was unable to arrive at any satis- 
factory conclusion. I could not feel at all certain as to 
how many persons had communicated with me. That 



54 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Ellen and Miss Allen were distinct females I had no 
doubt ; but as to wbether Miss Allen and Mrs. Arnold 
were not aliases for the same individual, I was not satis- 
fied. That ai least two male persons had communi- 
cated with me I was also certain, but not as to whether 
more than two had. Then the next question was, 
Were any of these parties acquaintances of mine ? I 
saw no reason for supposing that any female of my ac- 
quaintance had communicated with me ; but from the 
way in which Mr. W.'s name had recently been used, 
in connection with what I recollected of past conversa^ 
tions, I now strongly suspected that he was one of my 
visitors. At the sitting in Trenton when the visitor 
pretending to be Mr. H. called Mr. K., the late stock- 
broker, a " rascal " and " poor miserable creature," 
something was said about an Ohio railroad with which 
I had been connected, and in the stock of which Mr. 
K.'s firm had dealt more largely than other brokers. 
Mr. H., or the one personating him, evinced a knowl- 
edge of the affairs of this railroad which I could not 
understand ; and I asked him how he happened to know 
so much about that railroad. The only reply he made 
was, "Oh, I knew a good deal about it." If Mr. W. 
was the personator, the matter was clear, for his house 
was the financial agent of the company. A short time 
either before or after — I do not recollect which — the 
visit of Mr. W., as represented, with the Count, I was 
asked if I would assist in making a medium of Miss 
B. ; she to be under the charge of her father, another 
and more intimate acquaintance of mine, and Mr. W. 
I could understand why the first two names should be 
given, but not why Mr. W.'s was; and this incident 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 55 

now confirmed raj suspicions. But, on the other hand, 
it was difficult for me to believe that Mr. W. had fallen 
so low as to be a lying persouator of other individuals, 
attempting to deceive a person in my situation. 

Then as to the visitor calling himself the Count: 
The reader will not understand, from what I have writ- 
ten, why I should have hesitated in deciding that this 
visitor could not be the Count. But there were several 
reasons for hesitation in coming to such a conclusion. 
I knew from the language that this visitor had never be- 
fore communicated with me ; and, in short, the language, 
or style, as well as the substance of a portion of what 
was written, indicated that the visitor might be the 
Count I thought, also, that he manifested a little 
shame in telling his story. Of course I have given but 
a small portion of what was written duiing nearly, or 
quite, four hours. In these remarks I refer only to the 
first two visits ; nothing was subsequently said, or writ- 
ten, tending to produce conviction that it was by the 
Count. But at these two sittings I had an impression, 
such as I never had before, that the writer was the in- 
dividual he claimed to be, and not a personator. On 
the other hand again, if any reliance whatever is to be 
placed in obituary notices, and newspaper articles rela- 
tive to a deceased person, the Count is, in England, 
thought to have been a man of prudence, honesty, and 
sense ; this visitor is a lying fool, one who does not even 
know how to lie to advantage. 

It appeared to me, on reviewing the naiTative, that 
there must have been some scheme in view from the 
time Mr. H. was personated ; and I also concluded that 
this attempt at personation was the first communication 



56 MODERISr DIABOLISM. 

I had received from any male visitor. Up to that time, 
the females wished to be writing or talking almost con- 
stantly ; after that date, or at least after my return to 
New York, neither Miss Allen or her associates wished 
often to say anything, and all the}^ did say had refer- 
ence to some scheme. I concluded, however, that the 
scheme, whatever it might be, must be an impracticable 
one : and the important question with me was as to how 
much more time must elapse before it would be aban- 
doned. Of late, the only suggestions made were that I 
should aid in developing another medium ; and it did 
not appear to be expected that I would do this until 
" relieved " and visited by my friends. The persecu- 
tions at night had nearly ceased prior to this time ; but 
the constant presence of these two females was, in itself, 
an annoyance ; and, besides, I wished to learn some- 
thing about the other world, which I had not as yet suc- 
ceeded in doing. 

I returned to New York in October, determined to 
carry out the plan, formed before leaving, of visiting 
other mediums. Not knowing who were at this time 
the most noted ones, I had an interview with one of the 
most prominent Spiritualists in New York, a lawyer, to 
ascertain, and told him something of' my experience. 
On mentioning the personation of Mr. A., the lawyer 
admitted that the " spirits '' did sometimes lie ; but said 
the fact that Mr, A. was still living in our world did 
not prove that he was personated at Trenton by some 
other spirit, for it might have been his own spirit that 
visited me there. This gentleman held the theory, 
common, I believe, with Spiritualists, that the " spirit- 
ual body " of a man may leave the " physical body," 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 57 

go to any distance, and return at will. As this gentle- 
man was, at the time, residing out of the city, and ap- 
parently not very well informed about the public me- 
diums, I called on another prominent Spiritualist, a phy- 
sician. The physician agreed with the lawyer that the 
spiiitnal body of Mr. A. might have visited me at Tren- 
ton : but he did not agree with him that the spirits some- 
times lie. " In an experience of thu'teen years," he said, 
" I have never known an instance of the kind ; " and he 
requested that I would not accuse them of lying. This 
nonsense, coming from Spiritualists, did not at all sur- 
prise me, and I visited the gentlemen only for the pur- 
pose of inquiring about mediums, not with the expecta- 
tion of learning anything in explanation of my own 
experience. 

I visited several mediums, but learning nothing 
through them — as, in fact, I expected would be the 
case — and nothing new occurring from the visits, I con- 
cluded the only judicious course for me to lake would 
be to endeavor to divert my mind as much as possible 
from the subject I had relinquished all hope of learn- 
ing anything from Miss Allen or her associates, and had 
ceased making inquiry of them. At this time I seldom 
experienced any annoyance, either in the daytime or at 
night, and in a short time was able to forget, except at 
brief intervals, that invisible beings were with me. 

But on the night of November 23d, as soon as I 
went to bed, I experienced a new and violent attack, 
differing from anything before felt. The sensation was 
as though a powerful electric current was passing through 
my head, producing twitchings of the muscles of the 
face, and even the brain seemed to be actually in motion. 



58 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

This continued during the whole night, in consequence 
of which I did not sleep for a moment. 

The operation thus affecting my brain was continued 
every night for a long time ; gradually, however, becom- 
ing less violent. For more than a week, I was able to 
sleep only about every alternate night, and even then 
far from soundly. I inquired of Miss Allen the cause 
of this, though without much expectation of learning 
the truth. She said that she had left me for a short 
time, and thus the opposing female had obtained power 
to produce the strange effect. This reply, I felt, threw 
no light upon the subject ; but a remark which she 
made some time afterward did, as I thought. One night, 
when I was feeling very much exhausted and mani- 
fested the same, she said, " Then tell your friends to let 
you alone ; " from which I inferred that my friends were 
present, and that some kind of a contest was going on 
between them and Miss Allen. 

About the middle of January (1866), as the contest 
appeared to be still going on — though I was much less 
disturbed — I prepared a series of questions w^hich I 
thought it would be impossible to answer without giving 
me some information, or some clue by means of which 
I might arrive at a definite conclusion upon this sub- 
ject, and visited a noted medium named Mansfield. But 
stupidity beat me ; the questions, without having come 
to the knowledge of the medium, were all replied to 
without giving any information whatever. The follow- 
ing, given in reply to the question as to why Miss Allen 
and the other female remained with me contrary to my 
wishes, is a sample of the answers : 

"Because they find in your magnetism something 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVK 59 

that attracts them ; you do not desire them to come to 
you, and yet they do ; alike attracts alike, be it in that 
or in this world You desire not their counsels, and 
consider them fantastic spirits ; they feel indignant" 

This is also a fair sample of the communications 
received by myself and others during my first investiga- 
tions. And it was partly owing to the fact that all who 
had communicated directly with me, excepting Ellen, 
had conversed more rationally, or, at least, more like 
the men and women of our world, that I was inclined to 
believe the assertion that my conditiou differed from 
that of other mediums, and that, in consequence, Miss 
Allen and her associates might have some scheme in 
view. 

About two weeks later, I again attempted to learn 
something from the female opposing Miss Allen. Be- 
lieving one or more of my relatives to be present, I asked 
the girl why they could not communicate with me. 
Her reply, written with much difficulty, was, " Because 
they are so much better than you." This was, to a cer- 
tam extent, in accordance with the repeated assertions 
of Miss Allen and her associates, namely, that only 
a certain class of their world could communicate 
through other mediums; but if my friends could not 
communicate with me, it was impossible to imagine 
what the plot could be. I afterward endeavored to learn 
something more definite from this girl, but became con- 
vinced that if the writing was executed by her she was 
as great a liar as Miss Allen. I also, at various times, 
attempted to get communications from my friends, fix- 
ing my mind sometimes on one, sometimes on another. 
Communicatioas were written purporting to be by my 



60 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

friends, generally by my father, advising me, as for- 
merly, to wait patiently; but I concluded they were 
written by Miss Allen, 

On Sunday, May 6, (1866), I again made the attempt 
to get a commnnication from a relative. As I bad tried 
only once or twice thinking of my mother, I decided' 
this time to fix my mind on her. It was with the ut- 
most difficulty that anything was written ; but I finally 
became fully satisfied that my mother was present, and 
that the incidents given to satisfy me on this point came 
from her ; for I had. by this time, so much experience 
with these invisible persons that I knew what could be 
obtained by them from my mind and other sources, 
and what could not. 

I now devoted a portion of nearly every day to sitting 
for writing by my mother — fixing my mind on her — 
presuming from my past experience, and being also in- 
formed, that this would increase her power. After 
sitting a few times, I determined to endeavor to get fi'om 
her an explanation of my extraordinary experience ; as 
she might as well, for the purpose of increasing her 
power, write about this as anything else, I was told 
that Mary M,, whose name was once given me at Long 
Branch, was one of the females with me, and would 
assist my mother in writing, but that I must fix my 
mind on the latter. This Miss M. died at Cleveland, 
aged about seventeen years, and when I was about ten 
years of age. Her father was one of the wealthiest men 
in the place, and Cleveland was then so small a village 
that, young as I was, I must, probably, have seen every 
resident ; but all that I can now recall to recollection in 
reference to Miss M. is the fact of being one day told 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 61 

that she was dead. "With other members of the lamily 
I became well acquainted. 

The undertaking proved to be an excessively difficult 
and tedious one, and when at last the narrative was 
completed, I found it to be incoherent in some points, 
and improbable in others. Suspecting that Miss M. 
had been treaclierous, I endeavored to get corrections 
of these points, but found that my mother was unable 
to write them. Then, fixing my mind intently on her, 
I endeavored to get an impression as to the fact in each 
case, and, when I thought I had received this, would 
get by a movement of my hand a simple affirmative or 
negative as to whether my impression was coiTcct In 
this way I succeeded in getting an explanation which 
was coherent and plausible, and which, as I am now in- 
formed, was substantially correct, though there were 
some unimportant errors. I next attempted to get expla- 
nations of the several phenomena, such as rapping, 
table-tipping, etc., and in this Miss M. again assisted. 

It was not, at first, my intention to publish anything 
upon the subject ; but understanding that my friends 
in the other world desired I should publish the facts I 
had learned, which, to a certain extent, showed the 
evils of so-called Spiritualism — though not the full 
extent of these evils — and finding that the power of 
my mother to write did not increase, I decided to pre- 
pare, to the best of my ability under the circumstances, 
a work for publication. The manuscript was finished 
and delivered to the publishers in March, 1867. 



CHAPTEE II. 

INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE COJSTCLTJDED. 

In order tliat what follows may be understood, it is 
necessary here to state a portion of the information 
received when preparing the former work. I have 
given in the preceding narrative only such names as 
were frequently used, and but a small portion of the 
communications received. I can now recollect the 
names of more than thirty individuals who, as repre- 
sented, visited me once or twice. 

In the explanations received, I was informed that, 
until my mother succeeded in writing, only seven indi- 
viduals had directly communicated with me. These 
were, the female called Ellen, whose surname was Mc- 
Cauley ; another female of whom I never before heard ; 
Miss Mary M. ; Mr. K, the late stock-broker; Mr. W., 
the late banker ; and the two individuals designated as 
Mr, B. and the Count. The three females, as I was in- 
formed, had been with me from about the commence- 
ment of my experience as a medium ; the power of 
Miss McCauley had been partially overcome by the 
other two females, but she had never been removed ; 
and the idea I received was that those of the other- 
world had no power to move each other against the 
wilL 



INTBODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 63 

The statement given me in reference to the Count, 
and which I am now informed was correct, was as 
follows: Shortly after his marriage, when riding on 
horseback, he received the injury alluded to, which his 
surgeons pronounced incurable. The rank of his wife, 
being much higher than his own, gave him, as her hus- 
band, a position which he would not otherwise have 
had. I state this simply as a fact, without asserting 
that the Count was influenced by it, which he denies ; 
the reader can draw his own conclusion. At any rate, 
it was his suggestion that the wife should select some 
one for, what I will call, her husband ; the legal con- 
nection between her and the Count to continue, and the 
matter to be kept a secret if possible. The surgeons, 
on being spoken to, said that professional etiquette 
required them to keep such things secret if the patient 
so desired ; but the English cousin of the wife — the 
one who I ascertained on examining the " Peerage " 
must be the father of the illegitimate children, if the 
story was true — would be the heir in case she died 
without leaving issue ; and the surgeons demurred at 
conniving at what might be a fraud upon him. It was 
finally agreed, and arranged, that this cousin should be 
the husband ; and he was to remain (legally) unmarried. 
The result of this arrangement is, that the first child, a 
daughter, is legitimate, and all the other children are 
illegitimate. The second child is a son, and is, of 
course, acknowledged the heir. 

The story as now given, although rather " tough," 
seems more probable than the version given me by the 
Count ; and reflects less dishonor both on himself and 
wife. I will state the few facts I have learned tending 



64 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

to corroborate tlie story. From a book publisbed in 
London, according to my recollection in the year 1867, 
I learned that the Count met with an accident when 
riding on horseback about two months after his mar- 
riage. From the " Peerage " I learned that the English, 
cousin would be the heir under the circumstances 
stated ; and this work gave no account of the marriage 
of the cousin. From other sources, however, I have 
learned that he is married, but there is something 
unusual about the marriage. In one work I have seen 
it stated that the marriage is a morganatic one ; in 
another, that there is a difficulty in the matter owing 
to the opposition to it of the Count's wife. 

On the completion of the former work, I was directed 
to cease sitting for writing, but to think, as constantly 
as convenient, of my sister as present with me. In 
about two weeks from the time I commenced doing so, 
this sister became able to talk with me ; but it appeared 
to be a matter of great difficulty ; she pronounced each 
word, apparently, with as much force as possible, paus- 
ing between each, as one does when speaking to a person 
partially deaf, or at a distance. I supposed, and she 
appeared to think, that her power to converse orally 
with me would rapidly increase, as had that of the 
other females ; but in this I was destined to be dis- 
appointed. 

When I commenced the former manuscript the 
annoyances at night again commenced;' and when my 
sister attempted to acquire and increase the power of 
oral conversation, the annoyances greatly increased. It 
was, however, represented to me that my sister, with 
the aid of my mother and Miss M., horted soon to over- 



INTEODUCTORY NAEEATIVE. 65 

come the power of the other two females, so that they 
would be unable to annoy me ; though I am not cer- 
tain that I inquired, or was told, whether both of the 
other females, or only one, was engaged in causing these 
annoyances. At tins time, these females appeared to 
be unable to talk much ; but they, or one of them, had 
the power of operating on my muscles so as to cause 
involuntary movements, or twitchings — not of the 
whole limb, but solely of the muscles — which prevented 
me from sleeping soundly. One great annoyance at 
night was this operation upon my eyelids ; and I was 
for a long time, on going to bed, obliged to place my 
hand over my eyes and hold it there until I fell asleep. 
My hope of being soon relieved from these persecutions 
was also destined to terrible disappointment. 

After thinkw(] a long time of this sister, I was directed 
to think of another sister, then of my mother, and again 
of the first sister. All seemed to be of no avail ; after 
the first few months the power of my relatives did not 
appear to increase. One great difficulty was that, from 
some cause wliich I could not understand, when they 
attempted to increase their power the annoyances in- 
creased ; while when they made no eiforts of the kind, 
I was not disturbed at night. 

Without detaining the reader with repetitions of the 
same occurences and disappointments, I will pass on to 
the spring of 1869. Tiien I was informed that, although 
one of the three females with me was Miss M., as had 
been stated, one of them, and the one who had at times 
assisted my mother and sisters, was Mrs. S., a cousin 
of mine. This cousin, a daughter of my father's sister, 
visited Cleveland once when I was seven or eight years 



6Q MODERN DIABOLISM. 

of age, and again ten or eleven years later; except at 
these two visits, I never saw her. I had not heard of 
her death, or, in fact, heard anything aboat her for 
many years ; but she states that her death occurred in 
the year 1843. 

As I now understood the matter, 'the three females 
were. Miss McCauley, Miss M., and Mrs. S. ; and the 
first was the principal, if not the sole persecutor. And I 
inferred from what was said, though it was not distinctly 
stated, that the difficulty and disappointment my mother 
and sisters had experienced were owing to the course 
taken by Mrs. S., who would sometimes aid them, and 
at other times refuse to do so ; and I also understood 
that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for them 
to succeed without her assistance. A proposition was 
now made by Mrs. S. that I should agree to aid in de- 
veloping another medium with whom she could com- 
municate and be connected, as soon as I was relieved 
from the power of the other two females. On my 
agreeing to this, she would, as she stated, give her 
assistance to my mother and sisters. Of course I now 
knew, not only from this proposition, but also from the 
fact that she was one of the three females with me from 
the commencement, that Mrs. S. was literally a devil ; 
and I could not conscientiously enter into an agree- 
ment to aid in placing another individual in her power. 
This proposition was made by writing, for it seemed at 
this time difficult for either of them to talk. 

About the first of May I was again requested to sit 
for writing. The Count, from whom I had not heard 
for a long time, now came again — at least he said he 
had been absent — and I was told that he would write, 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 67 

but that I must fix my mind on my mother, as hereto- 
fore. The Count now renewed the proposal that I 
should go to England ; but he soon commenced telling 
such absurd and egregious lies as to what great things 
he would do for me there, that I refused to let him 
write longer, insisting that my mother should write. 
He stated that if I would go to England, and agree to 
the plan he proposed, Mrs. S. would assist my friends, 
and I would be "■ relieved " of the three females. Mrs. 
S. had previously made a similar statement, but she in- 
sisted that I should enter into a positive agreement to 
aid in developing another medium when " relieved." 
If there was any practicable plan by which I could be 
" relieved," I wished to be informed of it ; but was un- 
willing to hold my hand for the Count to write non- 
sense. My mother then attempted to write, but found 
it so difficult that I again permitted the Count, on con- 
dition that he would confine himself to tlie subject of 
relieving me. 

The sittings upon this subject continued for nearly 
two weeks ; finally the following agreement was entered 
into : I was to go to England, place the Count and 
others in communication with certain individuals there, 
and thus aid in rectifying as far as possible, and as 
peaceably as possible, the wi'ong which had been com- 
mitted. I use the phrase " as far as possible," because 
it is one of those frauds which cannot be entirely rec- 
tified. The eldest son is married, himself and wife be- 
lieving he is the legal heir. Several of the illegitimate 
daughters are also married ; but so far as they are con- 
cerned the parentage is of less importance. 

While performing th ; above, Mrs. S. was to aid m 



68 MOBEEN DIABOLISM. 

" relieving " me ; and when this was accomplished, so 
that mj friends and acquaintances in the other world, 
upon whose advice I could place reliance, would be 
able to converse freely with me, it was to be left to my 
own decision whether I would aid in developing an- 
other medium. It was represented that the medium 
would be a female, and that although Mrs. S. was to 
be in some way connected, she would not have the 
same power as with me ; a male relative of the medium 
being the one to be placed intimately en ra'p'poTt. About 
all these matters, however, I was to be definitely informed 
when " relieved." 

Inasmuch as the medium was not to be developed 
until after I had been relieved, the reader will not un- 
derstand why the latter might not as well have been per- 
formed in New York as in England. I cannot state the 
■reasons advanced why I should at once go to England; 
some of which I still consider valid, others I do not. 
It is sufficient to say that I am now informed if the 
plan had been carried out Mrs. S. would have lent 
her assistance, and I should in a short time have been 
" relieved." I was under great depression in conse- 
quence of my situation, and would have been willing 
to go round the world if there had been a reasonable 
probability of being " relieved" by so doing. As to 
whether I would be relieved by going to England, I 
was, in a great measure, obliged to rely upon the judg- 
ment of my friends in the other world. I should not 
have placed much reliance upon the judgment of my 
mother or sister (the only friends who could communi- 
cate directly with me) in such a matter, any more than 
if they had been in our world ; but I understood they 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 69 

nad male advisers, who coincided with them in the 
opinion that I had better go. Moreover, I wished to 
visit Euroj)e, which I had never seen, and thought it 
would be less convenient to go for several years to 
come than it then was ; still my deprassion was so great 
that I should not have thought of taking a pleasure 
trip if I had not hoped to be " relieved " in England. 

I sailed for England on the 26th of May, and two or 
three days after my arrival in London went to my room 
for the purpose of having a letter written ; the under- 
standing having been that on my arrival the Count was 
to write a letter to the widow, identifying himself and 
requesting for me an interview. When I sat down at 
the table I experienced, though in a less degree, the 
dread, or horror, once before felt and described ; and it 
appeared to be unusually difficult for any one to write. 
I persevered, however, until a few lines were written, 
when I perceived the writing was not by the Count, 
but by Mrs. S. Then I at once suspected that so far as 
being " relieved " was concerned, I had made the trip 
in vain. However, as it was stated that in a day or two 
the letter would be written, at the expiration of the lat- 
ter period I again went to my room for the purpose. 
This time I was informed that the mother-in-law of the 
Count would first write a letter. Writing was again 
difficult, and I again soon perceived from the style that 
the writer was Mrs. S., when I stopped. The Count 
then spohe nearly as follows : " So long as this oppo- 
sition continues the letter will not be written ; when it 
is written it will be dictated orally ; for the present you 
may consider the expedition a failure." I inquired the 
cauae-of the opposition, and why the expedition was a 



70 'MODERN" DIABOLISM. 

failure, but he would give no explanation, merely re- 
peating, " For tlie present you may consider the expe- 
dition a failure." My own conclusion was that Mrs. S. 
was the cause of the difficulty, and that the others did 
not like to acknowledge they had been deceived by 
her ; and yet, as she appeared desirous of having the 
letter written, I could not understand what the nature 
of her deception was. I left for Paris without again 
sitting for a letter to be written. 

A day or two before leaving Paris, I was sitting in 
my room, thinking whether I should return home by 
way of England, or not — a point I wished then, for a 
certain reason, to decide — ^when Mrs. S. commenced 
talking. She said that the letter would be written dur- 
ing my journey at some point where it would be con- 
venient for me to sit for the purpose. It was as con- 
venient for me to sit then as it would be at any future 
time, but she said there was a dispute between the 
Count and my friends which would soon be settled. 
In the following night, my mother, after great efforts, 
succeeded in giving me, partly by words and partly by 
impression, a brief communication, the purport of 
which was, that I must constantly bear in mind how 
very difficult it was for her to communicate ; that I 
must not send the letter even if the Count was willing 
to dictate one, or, in short, take any important step in 
the matter without first ascertaining that my friends ap- 
proved of it, and the manner of ascertaining this would 
be by having her identify herself This brief commu- 
nication, much briefer than what I have written, cost 
me nearly half the night's sleep ; it was some time after 
she commenced the effort before she could speak dis- 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATTVE. ' 71 

tinctly, and the effort so affected my nervous system 
that I did not fall asleep until long after the communi- 
cation was ended. I inferred from this that the difficulty 
in London had not been entirely, if at all, with Mrs. 
S. ; but that the Count had in some way been treach- 
erous. 

In October of the same year I was again in London, 
and, finding the letter would not be written, at once 
engaged my passage home. Knowing that it would be 
difficult for my mother or sister to inform me, against 
the will of Mrs, S., I had not attempted to get an ex- 
planation of the difficulty ; but after I had engaged my 
passage home I thought there could no longer be any 
motive for concealment, and therefore made the inquiry. 
The reply, purporting to be by my sister, was to the 
effect that the Count, after I had sailed from New York, 
renewed the proposition that I should remain perma- 
nently in England, and refused to carry out his part of 
the plan unless it was agreed to. This did not make 
the matter very clear, inasmuch as I was the party that 
must enter into such an agreement, if it was to be 
binding; and besides, it did not explain why my 
mother, at Paris, made so great an effort to caution me 
againsi sending the letter in case the Count was will- 
ing to dictate one. However, I concluded the Count 
had made some unreasonable demand, and inquired no 
further. This communication was oral ; and as soon as 
my sister ceased speaking, the Count said that his story 
about the illegitimacy of the children of his wife was 
a fiction. This was instantly contradicted by my sister, 
who said I had received a correct statement of the 
matter ; and the Count did not repeat his. assertion. 



72 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

For some time after my return to New York notli- 
ing more was said about "relieving" me; and I had 
arrived at the conclusion that I must abandon all hope 
of its accomplishment. During the journey, and since 
my return, I had suffered so little annoyance that, but 
for past experience and the fact that at rare intervals a 
few words were spoken, I should not have been aware 
that invisible beings were with me. But I had never 
been able to understand, or to get an explanation of, 
what I understood to be the physical inability of my 
friends to remove these females. I had understood that 
all my friends were aiming at was to overcome their 
power, so that if they remained they would be unable 
to annoy me, or to interfere with communications from 
others ; and that there was no power to remove them 
bodily. I supposed, at first, that such must be the fact ; 
but it was a fact, if such, which I could not reconcile 
with others given me when writing the former work; 
and the more I thought upon the subject, the more 
irreconcilable the statements appeared to be. I had 
repeatedly requested a definite explanation, but it had 
always been postponed, and I began to suspect that 
there was something connected with this matter which 
my friends did not like to inform me of 

About two months after my return, as I was sitting 
one day thinking about tliis matter, my sister, as I un- 
derstood it to be, commenced speaking. She said there 
was no difficulty in removing the females other than 
the effect it would have upon me ; and added that they 
were prevented fi'om leaving, as the effect of their leav- 
ing voluntarily was feared. Some time after this I was 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 73 

informed that my friends were preparing to effect their 
removal. 

On the night of January 26 (1870), when I went 
to bed, I was directed to fix my mind on my sister, as 
Miss McCauley and Miss M. were then to be removed. 
Mrs. S., as I understood, was expected to aid my 
friends. I experienced ilo unusual sensation for fifteen 
or twenty minutes, then I began to feel very faint. 
This faintness soon passed away, when I was informed 
that the operation had been postponed. In the morn- 
ing I was told that it was thought the operation might 
have been safely completed, and that it would soon be 
performed. On the second night following, I was again 
told to fix my mind on my sister, and the removal 
would then be made. This time there occurred violent 
palpitation of the heart, at least I know not what else to 
call it, but my whole breast heaved with terrible violence 
and rapidity. Some one said, " You are going, sir," 
and, for a few moments, I thought I was dying. When 
I had partially recovered, I was informed that the two 
females had been removed. But during the succeeding 
day I perceived that there was some one still with me 
acting in opposition to my friends. This, I was told, 
was Mrs. S. ; and it was stated that she had agreed to 
leave after the other two females had been removed, 
but now refused to do so, and that her removal must 
be effected by force, as had been that of the other two. 
On going to bed the following night, I was directed to 
fix my mind on my sister when I awoke in the morn- 
ing, as Mrs. S. was then to be removed. Her removal, 
I was informed, would affect only my head, not the 
action of my heart as that of the two others had. In 



74 MODERN" DIABOLISM. 

tlie morning T fixed mj mind on my sister, as directed, 
but experienced no nnusnal sensation, either in my 
Tiead or any other part of my system. In a short time 
I was told that Mrs. S, was removed ; but while dress- 
ing she commenced talking ; at least the talking pur- 
ported to be by her, and I knew that if not by her, it 
must be by one of the other two said to have been 
removed. It was then admitted that neither of the 
three had been removed ; and from a remark made by 
the Count I inferred that he had done the lying ; though 
why he was now staying with me I could not imagine. 

No further attempts to relieve me being made, on the 
80th of March I sat down to learn, if possible, the 
truth about my situation. I told my friends that I 
wished to know whether they did, or did not, feel sure 
that they could ever remove the females; and if they 
felt certain it could be done, then I wished to know 
within what time it could be accomplished. The reply 
was that they felt confident it could be done within a 
year from that date. To make it certain that this came 
from my friends, and not from Mrs. S., I requested my 
mother to identify herself in certification ; this being 
done, I felt that the only course for me to take was to 
be patient, and assist my friends as much as possible by 
the exercise of my thinking faculty as directed. 

I perceived no particular effect from the efforts of my 
friends until about six months after the above date ; 
then, although not sick, I became very weak. After 
this latter date, I was repeatedly told that I would be 
relieved before the close of the year 1870 ; but believ- 
ing these assertions to be made by Mrs. S. I did not 
place much reliance upon them. The course now taken 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 76 

bj Mrs. S. was to me a constant mystery. She, as I 
understood my friends, was to be removed, as well as 
the other two ; but she constantly talked as though she 
was assisting my friends against the others. In talk- 
ing, she always endeavored to give me the impression 
that my sister was speaking; but the mystery was 
that her constant admonitions about thinking were, so 
far as I could judge, correct ; and the impression she 
gave that it was my sister who was speaking increased, 
as I understood, the power of the latter. The only 
objection I made to her admonitions was that they 
were so frequent as to be annoying. She constantly 
warned me not to think of past occurrences connected 
with this matter, and, especially, not to think of myself, 
or exercise self-consciousness. " Don't think of that," 
and, " Don't think of yourself," were so frequently re- 
peated as to become wearisome. 

On the afternoon of the 31st of December (1870) my 
sister informed me that Miss McCauley and Miss M. 
were to be removed during the following night ; and 
she said that if I felt very weak after rising in the 
morning, I must lie down again; the principal object 
of the communication was, however, to advise me that 
she should not again speak to me until some time after 
the operation had been performed ; and she told me to 
recollect if there should be any talking during the night, 
it would not be by her. 

Nothing unusual occurred during the night, and at 
the moment of waking in the morning my sister in- 
formed me, in three or four words, that the removal 
had not been made. Later in the day Mrs. S., person- 
ating my sister, attempted to make me believe that the 



76 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

removal had been made, and that the one then acting 
in opposition to mj mother and sister, and interfering 
with their communications, was herself. This attempt 
failing, the Count said mj friends ought to inform me 
that the removal was an impossibility. Afterward, 
when I attempted to learn the cause of the non -re- 
moval, I was told that the difficulty was with the 
Count ; that at the last moment he had made a demand 
which could not be granted, and he, therefore, had re- 
fused to assist. This purported to be spoken by my 
mother ; and I inquired if, when told that I would be 
" relieved " within a year, she had relied upon the assist- 
ance of the lying Count. She replied, " I don't wish 
to talk more than is necessary, but we did rely upon 
his assistance." As it appeared to be difficult for her 
to talk, T made no further inquiry. On thinking of 
the matter afterward, however, I became convinced 
that it made little difference whether the Count assisted 
or not, as he could not have much power in the mat- 
ter ; and that the above must have been spoken by 
Mrs. S., who was the real cause of the failure. What 
she was aiming at I could not imagine ; but it was evi- 
dent that if this was the fact my friends must have re- 
lied upon her assistance ; and, therefore, after this date 
my hope of being " relieved " was not very strong. 
The reader will understand that, from first to last, I 
knew it was almost impossible for either my mother or 
sister to communicate with me when Mrs. S. opposed. 

I was told subsequently that my friends still hoped 
to " relieve " me within the period first named ; but 
whether the statement was made by my mother or sis- 
ter, or by Mrs. S., I made no attempt to ascertain. It 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 77 

was now stated that there was only one, namely, Miss 
McCauley, the effect of whose removal was feared- As 
I had been informed that Mrs. S. and Miss M, had over- 
come her power at Trenton, I could not understand 
this. 

The year within which I was to have been " relieved " 
passed away without any renewal of the attempt. After 
the expiration of that period the persecutions increased 
so much that one night — about the middle of May, 
1871 — after several nearly sleepless ones, I felt that I 
could not stand it much longer, when my mother said, 
" Bear it one month longer, and then, if we are unable 
to relieve you, we will stop the persecutions." When 
the month had expired, or about the middle of June, 
the persecutions nearly ceased, and I was not " relieved." 
I was then told that an attemj)t would be made to place 
the mother-in-law of the Count intimately en rapjjort 
with me. I understood there was a plan connected 
with this movement which would be explained when 
this measure had been accomplished. About the mid- 
dle of July I learned that this jjlan was a failure, and 
that my friends saw no other course than the one they 
had been pursuing by which to " relieve " me. The 
disturbances at night were then renewed, though I 
rested a little better than formerly. 

I was repeatedly told by Mrs. S. that I would cer- 
tainly be " relieved " before the close of that year (1871) ; 
and one night near the close of December, my mother, 
as I felt confident it was, confirmed this statement I 
understood they had, as before, decided upon the last 
night of the year as the time for performing the opera- 
tion. I went to bed that night expecting, or at least 



78 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

hoping, tlae removal would be made ; but nothing un- 
usual occurred, and at the moment of awaking in the 
morning my mother said the removal could not be per- 
formed. I had requested that the removal should be 
made this night, or that all efforts for the purpose should 
then cease; and I supposed, when told the above, 
that the latter course had been decided on. But I 
knew, from past experience, that if my mother and 
sister abandoned the idea of removing the females the 
disturbances at night would cease. These did not 
cease, and I soon learned that the idea of removal 
had not been abandoned. I also learned that the diffi- 
culty was, as I had suspected, with Mrs. S. — though 
her course was still to me an impenetrable mystery — 
and that the next move would be her removal. 

Nothing unusual occurred until the night of the 14th 
of January (1872), when I was awakened by a peculiar, 
sharp, and piercing paiu in the head. The sensation 
was as though a dagger had been driven into my brain. 
This was momentary, but it was succeeded by a dull 
pain lasting until the night of the 18th of the same 
month. On the latter night, soon after going to bed, I 
was attacked by a terrihle^ and almost unendurable pain 
in the head, which continued, without the slightest 
abatement, until daylight ; then there was a little miti- 
gation of the pain, and I slept for about half-an-hour. 
A dull pain succeeded this, which continued until the 
night of the 24th of the same month, when the occur- 
rence of the night of the 18th was repeated, except that 
the pain this time was not quite so severe. As before, 
the terrible pain came on soon after I went to bed, in 
consequence of which I slept none until daylight, when 



INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 79 

I again slept for about lialf-an-hour. Tliis attack was 
also succeeded by pain of less intensity, which, con- 
tinued for several days, gradually passing away. I 
understood that this pain was caused by efforts to 
remove Mrs. S. ; but, knowing that at such times my 
mother and sister were unable to converse, I asked no 
questions. When the pain had left me, I learned that 
this attempt was also a failure. 

In the year 1868, I was told that as I thought of 
writing a new work, I might commence it, and that by 
the time it was so far completed as to require the addi- 
tional matter my friends in the other world were to 
furnish, they would be able to give it. I therefore pre- 
pared the manuscript as far as possible ; but when I 
attempted to get this additional matter, I found that, for 
some reason, it could not, or would not, be given. Then 
came the proposition to go to England, and I took the 
unfinished manuscript with me, expecting to complete 
and publish it in London. 

When I learned that Mrs. S. could not be removed, I 
abandoned all hope of being " relieved ; " and then made 
another attempt to get the matter required for complet- 
ing the work. I found that my sister was willing to 
make the attempt to furnish it ; and, although the under- 
taking has been attended with great difficulty, I per- 
severed until I have, as I believe, obtained it so far as 
is absolutely essential. 

When, in 1868, I commenced this work, T was told 
that new theories of Light, Sound, etc., would be given 
me. I inferred that these theories must have a very 
important bearing upon my subject ; and therefore wrote 
brief criticisms upon the popular theories of these phe- 



80 



MODEEN DIABOLISM. 



nomena^ On receiving tlie new theories, they do not 
appear to me of quite so much importance, in reference 
to my subject, as I had supposed would be the case. 
Stilly they have a bearing; and, as I have received 
them, I give them for consideration, with the criticisms 
upon other theories which I had previously written. 
One reason for giving these theories here is, that they 
are positively the only evidence I have received, or am 
able to offer the reader, that there are in the other world 
any who in ours would be considered intellectual and 
intelliccent men. 



CHAPTER III 
explajStation of introductory narrative. 

One of tlie delusions of Spiritualists is the belief 
that the " spirits " have superhuman means for knowing 
the movements of the inhabitants of this world. Thej 
must have this belief, if they have any definite idea 
upon the subject ; for otherwise they would not think 
it at all probable that they could, at any time, receive a 
communication from a friend in the other world by 
visiting a medium. The truth is, however, Spiritualists 
do not much trouble themselves with questions of this 
nature. During my earlier investigations, I never knew 
an instance of a Spiritualist, when receiving through a 
medium a message purporting and believed to be from 
a friend in the other world, inquiring how that friend 
happened to be present. 

When I was requested to act as a medium, the idea 
advanced was, that engagements for the meetings must 
be made, and those of the other world sent for ; pre- 
cisely as if both parties were in this world. It is true 
that the movements of those of the other world are, 
compared with ours, exceedingly rapid ; and that, there- 
fore, they can more readily find an individual of their 
own world. But when they undertake to find one of 
this world whose location they do not know, they, of 



82 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

course, lack one great opportunity whicli we possess, 
namely, that of inquiring of others personally, or by 
mail or telegraph. 

I resided at Cleveland, Ohio, until the year 1855, 
when I changed my residence to New York. All the 
relatives referred to in the preceding narrative, with the 
exception of my cousin, Mrs. S., died at Cleveland. 
In New York, after the first year, I boarded at the same 
hotel until the year 1862 ; and my friends in the other 
world had learned where I was boarding. In the 
spring of 1862 I left New York, and was absent 
most of the time until autumn of the following year. 
When I returned in the autumn of 1863, the hotel at 
which I had formerly boarded being closed, I was 
obliged to go to another ; my. friends thus lost track of 
me. 

All public mediums are surrounded by a consider- 
able number of the other world, besides those inti- 
mately en rapport with the mediums, and who give the 
communications. Some of the former always attempt 
to become en rapport with the visitors ; and in a large 
proportion of cases the attempt is more or less success- 
ful. If the reader has ever received through a medium 
an answer to a mental question, then in his, or her 
case the attempt referred to has been, to a certain ex- 
tent, successful ; for in no other way could the question 
have been learned. 

As a general rule in such cases, those intimately en 
rapport with the mediums become, for the time being, 
en rapport with the visitors, in order to learn the ques- 
tions ; as they can more readily effect this than others. 
But when one of these becomes en rapport with a visitor, 



' 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 83 

jt increases the facility of others present to accomplish 
the same ; and when one of the latter succeeds in this, 
he, or she, frequently follows the visitor when he leaves. 
Even if the one of the other world does not become 
able to communicate with the visitor, as is hoped, some- 
thing of what passes in our world can be learned through 
him, which is a gratification, 

Duiing my earlier investigations, and for some time 
afterward, I was, as I am now informed, thus followed 
and accompanied by one, and sometimes more than 
one, of the other world ; as were others of the parly 
that visited mediums and sat in " circles " with me. 
And when I again visited mediums in the autumn of 
1863, I was followed from one of them by Miss Mc- 
Cauley, who is an average specimen of those surround- 
ing and communicating through the mediums. My 
friends know little about her, other than that she was 
born in Ireland, and was a common prostitute in New 
York. It was at her suggestion that I was directed, 
through one of the mediums, to sit alone for commu- 
nications ; as she thought she would be able to write 
with my hand. 

But the power of Miss McCauley over my nervous 
organization was very slight ; and never would have 
become very great had not Mrs. S. arrived. The name 
first written was obtained from my own mind, although 
not one I was thinking of at the time. Others were 
obtained in the same way ; but some were given by an 
individual who had lived in Cleveland ; for as soon as 
Miss McCauley became able to write at all, the lying 
creatures that surround mediums began to gather 
around me ; although I was not acting as a medium for 



84 MODEKlSr DIABOLISM. 

communications to others. The errors in spelling the 
names were generally owing to Miss McCauley's igno- 
rance ; but the error in attempting to give the name of 
mj sister was from a different cause. I hud thought 
of my sister when Miss McCauley was with me ; but, 
of course, her name was not prominent in my mind ; 
and it seems that all Miss McCauley could make out 
was the latter portion of the name, forming the some- 
what common one — Ella. My sister suggests that one 
cause for the error may be the fact that her name is a 
very uncommon one in Ireland. This idea was sug- 
gested while writing the above last lines, and I am not 
prepared to say whether such is the fact, or not ; but I 
cannot at this moment recollect having ever known or 
heard of an Irish female having the name. Of course, 
if Miss McCauley had not been an idiot, she would 
have perceived the first time she wrote Ella that it was 
not the name of my sister. 

In the spring of 1864 Miss M. heard of, and visited 
me. She then gave the names of some of the earlier 
residents of Cleveland ; and, for her aid in this respect. 
Miss McCauley permitted and assisted her to write ; but 
the power of Miss M. proved to be even less than that 
of Miss McCauley. The first visit of Mrs. S. to Cleve- 
land was prior to the death of Miss M., and the two 
girls, of about the same age, then met. They had 
again met in the other world ; and Miss M., after visit- 
ing me, brought Mrs. S. At first. Miss McCauley per- 
mitted, and assisted Mrs. S. to write, as she had Miss 
M., and for the same reason ; but the power of Mrs. S. 
became so rapidly developed that Miss McCauley, fear- 
ing she would lose the control, soon refused to let her 



EXPLANATOET NAEHATIVE. 85 

write. This occurred shortly before I left New York 
for Trenton ; and the ungrammatical and coarse com- 
munications, purporting to be written by a deceased 
friend of mine during the last sittings in New York, 
were all by Miss McCauley. Mrs. S., in increasing her 
own power, had also increased that of Miss McCauley. 
But Mrs. S. also believed that if Miss McCauley could 
be induced to let her write a little longer she would get 
the control ; and she, with Miss M. and Miss McCauley, 
went with me to Trenton. 

One of my visitors at the hotel in New York was a 
female who had been acquainted with Mr. A., and who 
saw him there. This female also followed me to Tren- 
ton ; and it was at her suggestion that the personation 
of Mr, A. was undertaken. As this personation has no 
particular connection with the main theme of my nar- 
rative, it is unnecessary to explain it farther than to 
say that the object of the female was to annoy Mr. A. ; 
and also that it was a silly scheme, as it assumed that 
I could be induced to send a letter purporting to be 
fi'om Mr. A. to his wife, without first having learned 
through ordinary channels of the death of the for- 
mer. To carry out this scheme, Miss McCauley was 
induced to let Mrs. S. write. The latter, to avoid ex- 
citing my suspicion that I had been followed from New 
York, for several days personated only individuals who 
had lived in the vicinity of Trenton. Then followed 
the personation of Mr. A. ; and when it was found that 
I would not send the letter, and probably because I 
would not, the females determined to mortify me by 
inducing me to inquire as often as possible about the 
death of Mr. A. ; but as the two individuals of whom I 



86 MODEEN" DIABOLISM. 

inquired must have supposed that I had heard of the 
death in the ordinary way, I fa,il to perceive what great 
mortification I was expected to experience. 

The statement which Miss McOauley gave me at 
Trenton of her former life and present character was a 
pretty correct one ; and as she now wrote in her true 
character, this increased her power. Mrs. S., perceiv- 
ing the latter fact, advised me — personating Mr. A. — 
not to let her write. The one who at this sitting gave 
her name as Annie Allen was Miss M. She stated that 
her father was a New- York banker because I had been 
engaged in that business there. In writing, at this time, 
Miss M. had to be assisted by Mrs. S. Soon afterward 
Mrs. S., perceiving that her power was diminished 
when personating a man, gave her name as Mrs. Ar- 
nold. She h-ad heard of North Bend, Ohio, the late 
residence of General HarrisoD, but now thought the 
name was South Bend, and gave the latter as her for- 
mer residence. Subsequently Mrs. S. sometimes as- 
sumed the alias of Annie Allen, sometimes that of Mrs. 
Arnold, for reasons which will appeal'. 

The likeness of Mr. A.'s acquaintance was obtained 
from my mind ; and the individual first mistaken for 
him was seen in 'the street by one who informed Mrs. 
S. Afterward, at my suggestion, Miss M., guided by 
one who had lived in Trenton, went to the gentleman's 
hotel, and seeing an elderly person sitting there thought 
this might be the one, as I had stated that the gentle- 
man was older than the one first taken for him. A form 
is, according to the dictionary, " a long bench or seat ; '" 
but Miss M. thought that a plain desk, such as are used 



EXPLANATOKY NAERATIVE. 87 

in school-houses, and such as the gentleman was sitting 
at, was called a form. 

The electric shocks which I experienced about this 
time were caused by efforts to remove Miss McCauley ; 
as it was perceived that this might kill me, the attempt 
was abandoned. The statement that the shocks were 
caused by Ellen because I would not let her write, 
was written by Mrs. S. The subsequent choking was 
by Mrs, S., and she did all the talking at the time. 
The explanation she gave my friends of this matter 
was, that by making me believe Ellen was trying to 
choke me, while she, as Mrs. Arnold, was endeavoring 
to protect me, she hoped to increase her power. But 
Mrs. Arnold did not pretend to be doing anything to 
prevent the choking ; she represented, at the time, that 
she had no power to prevent it ; and my friends are 
convinced that the persecution was solely from malig- 
nancy. 

As I wish to throw all the light possible upon this 
subject, I will here state that, although there was no 
quarrel, or particular enmity, there was not, within my 
recollection, a very warm friendship existing between 
the two families of which Mrs. S. and myself were mem- 
bers ; and this accounts for the fact that I know so lit- 
tle about her. Whether this had anything to do with 
the persecution, or not, I cannot say. It appears that 
Miss M. assisted in the matter as far as was in her power. 
My own acquaintance with Mrs. S. was very slight, and 
I had none at all with Miss M. ; but from the informa- 
tion I have received I infer that if these fallen creatui'es 
had previously known nothing about me or the fliraily 
of which I was a member, they would not then have 



88 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

persecuted me ; for, as yet, I had in no way^except in 
the refusal to send the letter to Mrs. A., about which 
these two could not have cared much — thwarted their 
inclinations. But this fiendish malignancy towards one 
they had formerly known, or rather towards a member 
of a family which they had known — whatever may have 
produced it — was undoubtedly the cause of this perse- 
cution, and also of the readiness of these two females 
to enter into the personation of Mr. A. ; for if I had 
been prevailed on to send the letter to Mrs. A., the re- 
sult would, of course, have been extremely mortifying 
to me. 

The choking, or attempts at choking, were performed 
by creating what, when they become visible. Spiritual- 
ists call "spirit-hands;" in which operation my elec- 
tricity, or nei'vous fluid, as it is called, was used ; and 
it was the exhaustion of this fluid that brought on the 
palpitation of the heart and partial paralysis of the 
limbs. And it was Mrs. S. who, personating Ellen, 
said she produced this, and meant to kill me. The 
power of Miss McCauley had by this time been so far 
overcome that she could neither write or talk when 
Mrs. S. endeavored to prevent her. 

But the power of Miss McCauley was still so great 
that, being an idiot, she was an impediment to Mrs. S. 
and Miss M. The latter two would have had the as- 
sistance of others present in removing her if it had been 
thought prudent to do so ; but it was still feared that 
this might kill me. The two females then conceived 
the idea of making me believe that Ellen was killed. 
They now thought of trying to induce me to act as a 
public medium, and wished first to reduce the power 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 89 

of Miss McCauley as far as possible. They Lad now 
learned the operation of my mind, and understood that if 
I could be made to believe Ellen was killed, her power 
would be greatly diminished. Of course the effect 
would be the same if I believed she was removed, which I 
would have been far more likely to do ; but of these two 
plans, the females naturally chose the most silly one. 
Mrs. S. believed that my thinking intently of my father 
for such a length of time would increase her power ; 
but why she thus believed is not very clear, and it had 
little, if any, effect of the kind. My error as to the 
effect of this night's operations arose from the fact that 
up to this time Mrs. S. fi-equently personated Ellen in 
speaking; and as she now ceased doing so, I inferred 
that Ellen's power had been destroyed. 

The original intention of the two females in reference 
to my acting as a public medium, was simply persona- 
tions and deceptions, as through others. How they 
expected to induce me to relinquish the business in 
which I was then engaged, to enter upon that of a 
medium, which I think cannot be very lucrative, I do 
not understand. But they knew I could not be induced 
to act at all as a medium in Trenton, and besides, pre- 
ferred having me go to New York where visitors would 
be more numerous. 

When I was told in New York the preceding autumn 
of the suicide of Mr. K, the stock-broker, neither Mrs. 
S. or Miss M. was with me. But it appears that I had 
thought of the matter since, when they both were with 
me ; and they received the impression from my mind 
that Mr. K. would be a man suitable for their purposa 
This purpose was to have some one come and personate 



90 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

deceased bankers and brokers, late of New York, and 
tliTis induce me to go there and act as a medium. I am 
told tbat the two females received from me the impres- 
sion that Mr. K. was a man who would be likely to do 
this ; and suppose such must be the fact But the truth 
is that I would not, at that time, have believed Mr. K. 
would enter into such a scheme ; for I could not then, 
nor can I now, understand how any man, whether in 
this world or the other, can feel any interest, or find any 
amusement in such nonsense. The impression I really 
had of Mr. K. was, that he was about as honest as the 
average of stock-brokers — perhaps it would be more 
correct to say stock-gamblers, for he was of the latter 
class — and that he was not such a man as I would 
choose for an intimate companion. I think my impres- 
sion of him was no worse than this ; and the impression 
the two females really received was, not that Mr. K. 
when in our world would engage in such trifling decep- 
tions, but that he would probably become such a being 
on passing into their world. 

Miss M. therefore went in search of, and found Mr. K. ; 
and here, as might be expected, there is a discrepancy 
in the statements. Miss M. asserts that Mr. K^, before 
she brought him to me, agreed to assist in the persona- 
tions ; Mr. K. avers that he entered into no such agree- 
ment. It appears to me that the point is not a very im- 
portant one, inasmuch as Mr. K. did, when he came, 
personate another individual. 

tip to this date there was nothing in my case differ- 
ing from that of other mediums, except that Mrs. S. and 
Miss M. are more intellectual than those in control of 
any other, and the consequent conflict between them and 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 91 

Miss McCauley. And if the two females had succeeded 
iu then- original scheme, there would have occurred 
nothing new. The truth is, however, that there never 
was any possibility of their success in this scheme. 
Neither of them had acquired the power of communicat- 
ing freely before I became unwell ; in fact, it was during 
my illness that Mrs. S. became able to talk with me. I 
was not then in a condition to test the identity of in- 
dividuals, or, in fact, to reason very strongly upon the 
subject; but even then, the personations appeared so 
vague and unsatisfactoiy that I should not have enter- 
tamed for a moment the idea of serving as a medium for 
communications to others. Before the arrival of Mr. K., 
I had become sceptical as to whether any of my friends 
had communicated with me ; and I knew that most, if 
not all, the communications since my recovery from ill- 
ness were personations. In order to have induced me 
to serve as a medium, it would have been absolutely 
necessary to have brought my friends and permitted 
them to communicate freely with me ; which, of course, 
would have defeated the scheme of these females. 

I very much doubt whether mediums, generally, have 
as much faith in the genuineness of the communications 
as their visitors. During my earlier investigations, I 
once asked a celebrated medium if he had ever, for 
himself, received a communication purporting to be 
from a departed friend which he was perfectly satisfied 
was genuine. He frankly replied that he never had. 
Yet this man was every day serving as a medium for 
communications to others, which the recipients were 
" perfectly satisfied " came from the friends whose names 
were given. One of the mediums that I visited in the 



92 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

autumn of 1865, for the purpose stated, was Mrs. Under- 
liill — formerly Mrs. Brown— and I asked her the same 
question, stating my own convictions. She replied, 
after some hesitation, that she thought she had received 
such ; but did not speak with the confidence of those 
who had received communications through her ; and it 
was to me evident from her remarks that, while she 
was honest in the matter, and allowed the recipients to 
judge for themselves, she had, herself, not much faith 
in the genuineness of the immense number of messages 
which had been delivered through her. It is proper to 
state that she was not at this time, and has not been 
since her last marriage, a public medium. Her husband, 
who was present when I made the above inquiry, re- 
marked, after her reply, that if there had, as yet, been 
no medium through whom truthfal communications 
could be received, perhaps there would be such a one 
hereafter. This remark shows very clearly his opinion 
upon this point ; and, although not himself a medium, 
he must have had opportunities for forming a correct 
judgment. 

But, aside from all this, if I had commenced acting as 
a public medium, my friends in the other world would 
soon have learned the fact, and found me ; and would 
have taken the course they did when brought to me. 

It here becomes necessary to make a statement which 
may appear rather egotistical ; but the statement is one 
which I have received, and I cannot avoid giving it if 
what follows. is to be rendered intelligible. There has 
never lived in our world another individual with whom 
any of the other world but the most degraded class, 
could communicate, except on very rare occasions, and 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 93 

then only for a monaent. It is a fact that one of our 
world may in a certain stage of sleep receive, in some 
way. a communication from a departed friend ; or the 
one of the other world may have succeeded in becoming 
so perfectly en rapport with the one of this while the 
latter was asleep as to be able to deliver the message, by 
impression of ideas, by vision, or even by audible words, 
at the moment of the latter's awaking ; but as soon as 
the individual is fully awake the rapport is dissolved, 
and the power of communication is gone. What is 
meant is, that there has never lived one with whom 
communication could be held at any time, or for any 
length of time, by any of the other world except the 
degraded and lying class. And it is not meant that 
there are no others who could be brought into the same 
condition as myself, but simply that circumstances have 
not conspired to bring them into this condition. Why 
one class of the other world has more power in this re- 
spect than another, will be explained hereafter so far as 
I am able ; but it cannot be fully explained ; like life 
itself, it must remain a mystery. 

One reason why those of the other world will not 
communicate with their iriends in ours through the 
mediums is, that the devils in control of the latter will 
not permit all the facts to be given. It is not merely 
that the friend would be left subject to the receipt of 
false messages and liable to impositions, but that as he 
would continue to visit mediums when no friend of the 
other world was present to prevent, he would soon, 
perhaps, be in the condition of myself and many others ; 
some devil would become so far en rapport that he, or 
she, could not be removed without injury: 



94 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

When Mr. K. was brought to me at Trenton, he per- 
ceived that almost any one of his world could be placed 
en rapport with me by Mrs. S., so as to be able to com- 
municate direct. He told the two females that it would 
be useless to try to persuade me to act as a medium in 
the way they proposed ; that my friends must first be 
placed in communication with me, and the idea of per- 
sonations be abandoned. He suggested, also, that it 
would be more interesting to have real communications 
made through me, than merely to practice personations 
as was done through other mediums. But one difficulty 
was, that Mrs. S. and Miss M., although more intelli- 
gent, are as great liars as those in control of other 
mediums. 

On learning what relatives T had in his world, Mr. 
K. proposed that one of my sisters should be placed en 
rapport to remain constantly with me. In this way he 
thought I might be induced to act as a medium. His 
idea was that I should serve mostly for communications 
to wealthy individuals, charging a large fee, so as to 
make the business a lucrative one. And he wished to 
be connected with the business as a sort of manager in 
his world. But here, as Mr. K. had given the females 
his opinion on one point, they now gave him theirs on 
another. They told him that I would not have him 
for manager. The idea then occurred to Mr. K. of 
getting some one to act as manager who would permit 
him to be associated. He knew of the death of Mr. 
H., the late bank president, as it occurred before his 
own ; and appears to have assumed that because Mr. H. 

was formerly president of the M Bank he wo'uld 

be acceptable to me. I know nothing about Mr. H. 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 95 

furtlier than that he was president of this bank, which 
would not, of itself, be with me any recommendation 
for such a position ; one of the duties of which would 
have been, as I understand, to decide who might com- 
municate through me ; for, of course, even if I devoted 
my whole time to the business, but a small proportion 
of the other world could do so. My friends state that 
Mr. H. is not a proper person for such a position ; and 
the fact that he entered into the scheme of Mr. K., and 
concealed the matter from my friends, is sufficient 
evidence on this point. The truth is that if he had 
been qualified for the position, Mr. K. would not have 
attempted to negotiate with him. 

Mr. K. found Mr. H. and proposed the scheme, when 
the latter readily entered into it; but, as the females 
objected to having him brought to me until an arrange- 
ment had been made with my friends, Mr. K. attempted 
to personate Mr. H, The delay in speaking to my 
friends about the matter, was owing to the fact that 
neither Mr. K. or Mr. H. had any valid reasons to oflfer 
for being permitted to act as managers ; and it was 
necessary for them to arrange some plan by which thej 
could be of service to me. 

It will be recollected that I had heard nothing aboul 
Miss Annie Allen since learning definitely that Mr. A. 
was still living in our world. This name having been 
used in that attempt at deception, had not since been 
given. But Mrs. S. — personating the late bank presi- 
dent — now stated that he had engaged Miss Allen to 
stay with me and prevent deceptions. In the persona 
tions of the bank president and others at this time, Mrs. 
S. did most of the writing and talking ; she would not 



96 " MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

permit Mr. K. to do much of either. And in order to 
carry out the new scheme, it was necessary that the 
aliases of the two females should be dropped, and theii 
real names given before the arrival of my friends. Mrs. 
Arnold was now to leave, and in a short time Mrs. S. 
was to arrive. In the meantime, Miss Allen was to re 
main with me ; after the arrival of Mrs. S. she too would 
leave, and Miss M. arrive. Mrs. S. had sometimes con- 
versed under the alia^ of Miss Allen, as well as under 
that of Mrs. Arnold. As regards the fictitious names, 
the effect with me was the same as if the females had 
given their real ones ; I had become acquainted, so to 
speak, with Mrs. Arnold and Miss Allen ; and it was 
feared that if both these characters were at once with- 
drawn Miss McCauley would gain power. There was 
some cunning in this, but not much wisdom ; for it 
would have been impossible to have concealed from my 
friends — especially if my sister had been placed inti 
mately en rapport with me — what had occurred. There 
appears to have been at this time no definite plan for 
getting rid of Miss McCauley ; though it was thought 
they might eventually accomplish this by placing her 
en rapport with some other person. 

Mr. H. suggested the idea of having some one of our 
world associated with me ; the advantage of which I do 
not perceive ; but the probability is that he thought by 
having some former acquaintance of his associated with 
me he would be better able to secure his position as 

manager. He named David L , formerly president 

of one of the largest banks in New York, for this pur- 
pose ; and the object in having a letter written at once 
to Mr. L, was, probably, to procure his influeuce with 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 97 

me in favor of Mr. H. as manager ; an influence whicTi 
would have amounted to nothing. I know very little 
about Mr. L. other than what mj invisible friends have 
told ma On inquiring, I have learned that he was 
president of the bank they named, but resigned several 
j'-ears prior to my coming to New York, and is now liv- 
ing in Massachusetts. I have not taken the trouble to 
learn whether he had left New York prior to the time 
of which I am now writing, or not. The Mr. L. 
whose name I had seen with the prefix of Reverend is 
Joshua L., editor of a religious newspaper in New 
York 

Mr. H. gave Mr. K., orally, the substance of the let- 
ter to be written Mr. L. ; and gave him correctly the 
first name of the latter. Mr. K. had somehow got the 
impression that the name of the cashier of the bank was 
that of the president ; and, which is more inexplicable, 
this error was not corrected at his interview with Mr. 
H. What seems, if possible, still more strange is, that 
Mr. K. did not recollect the first name of either cashier 
or president : and did not, at the interview, inquire for 
it, although he must have known it would have to be 
signed to the letter. It must be borne in mind that Mr. 
K., although when in our world considered about as 
sharp as the average of brokers, is now very stupid. T 
was slightly acquainted in New York with a Mr. Joseph 
M. (the surname being that of the former cashier of the 
bank), who was connected with a Wall street insurance 
company ; and it appears that after the first personation 

of the late bank president, when the surname M 

only was given, I thought of this person and his name. 
M'^s. S. thus got the impression that the first name of 



98 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

the late bank president was Joseph. Tlie letter to Mr. 
L., although partly dictated by Mr, K., was written by 
Mrs. S. ; but Mr. K, knew what name she signed to the 
letter, and the affair was so very stupid as scarcely to 
admit of an intelligible explanation. The error in di- 
recting the letter to David A. L , Mr. L. having no 

middle name, was, I am informed, by Mi-. K. The blun- 
ders would appear less strange if these persons had not 
been engaged in what was to them an important scheme. 

Mr. K. was the first visitor who gave his real name. 
There was no reason for concealing it that I can per- 
ceive ; but it seems strange that, having such a scheme 
in view, he and the females could not at this time avoid 
useless personations ; that is, personations having no 
connection with the scheme. It will be recollected that 
when his name was first given — which was after the 
first personation of the late bank president — I was told 
that about forty persons, including Howard, Daboll, 
Dudley M., and a Mr. T., were present. The only ex- 
planation given of this is, that Mr. K. thought it the 
best mode of accounting for his presence. Why the 
name of Dudley M. happened to be given, was to me a 
mystery which is now explained. The person they in- 
tended to make me believe present, was Horace M., late 
president of an Ohio college, and well known for his 
services in the cause of education. When I spoke of 
Dudley M. having gone to Europe, the mistake was 
perceived, but as it could not well be rectified, it was 
stated that he died in Paris. The name of Daboll was 
suggested by Miss M., who had studied his Arithmetic ; 
a work superseded many years since. 

During the last six years of my residence in Cleve- 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 99 

land I was secretary of a railway company. The bank- 
ing-house of which Mr. W. was the senior member was 
the financial agent of the compaiiy ; and the firm of 
which Mr. EL was a partner, owing to circumstances not 
necessary to be mentioned, at that time dealt more 
largely in the stock of the company than other brokers ; 
owing to which fact T became acquainted with him be- 
fore I left Cleveland. The gentleman who was president 
of the company dui'ing most of the time that I was con-^ 
nected with it — a very prominent person in Ohio — died 
in the year 1860. 

"When I inquired of Mr. K., who was personating the 
late bank president, if he had met Mr. W. in the other 
world, he intimated in his reply tliat he was not aware 
that the latter had entered it. This appears to have 
been an aimless falsehood, for Mr. K. was well ac- 
quainted with Mr. W., and knew of the latter's death at 
the time it occurred. But this inquiry suggested to 
Mr. K. the idea that the association of Mr. W. and the 
late president of the railway company — especially the 
latter — in the scheme, would be more likely to meet my 
approval, and secure my co-operation, than that of the 
late bank president, whom, as he now perceived, I 
knew nothing about. He therefore found Mr. W., who 
readily assented to the proposal, and who subsequently 
spoke to the late railway president and secured his co- 
operation. It was assumed by these persons that my 
relatives in their world, especially my father, would 
have g]-eat influence with me ; and they aimed at secur- 
ing this influence. The late railway president, although 
not for many years previous to his death a resident of 
Cleveland, had formerly resided there, and been ac- 



100 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

quainted with my father. It was therefore decided that 
he should call on my father and endeavor to secure his 
influence ; but the matter was still postponed for the 
reason that they had no satisfactory indacement to offer. 

The letter to Mr. L. was written before I made the in- 
quiry about Mr. W. ; and my visit to New York, when 
I called for the answer, was soon after Mr. K. had seen 
Mr. W. and made the proposal. When, at this visit, I 
inade the inquiries and learned that the name of the late 
banlc president was not M. but H., the two females de- 
cided that Mr. K. was too stupid for their purpose, and 
that Mr. W. should be brought. Mr. K. then immedi- 
ately conducted Miss M. to Mr. W., and the latter ac- 
companied her to Trenton the same evening. When, 
sitting on the piazza of the hotel at Trenton that even- 
ing, I was told by one personating the late bank presi- 
dent that he had been " home " and learned that his name 
was H., Mr. W. was present; and although the words 
were spoken by Mrs. S., they were suggested by Mr. W. 

It was the intention of Mr. W., at this time, not to 
give his name until after Mrs. S. and Miss M. had given 
theirs, and Mrs. Arnold with Miss Allen had, as would 
be represented, left ; which would obviate the necessity 
of explanation on the part of Mr. W. as to his connec- 
tion with the latter two. As Mr. H. had been, to a 
certain extent, advised of the facts, it was the intention 
of Mr. W. that he should be associated in the matter ; 
and should, when he came, corroborate what I was now 
told. It is probable that Mr. W. did not expect to de- 
ceive my friends in his world, but did expect that they 
might be induced to conceal the facts from me ; and this 
expectation was based upon his knowledge that it would 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 101 

be difficult, safely for me, forcibly to remove Mrs. S. and 
Miss McCaiiley. But the idea that I could serve for 
any length of time as a medium for genuine communi- 
cations, thus learning how distinctly those of the other 
world recollect the incidents in their former lives, and 
yet believe that some forget their names, was a very 
silly one. 

But Mr. W., soon after his arrival, told the two females 
that my friends would be very much opposed to their 
I'emaining with me ; and he suggested the idea of develop- 
ing for them another medium. In consequence of this» 
they decided to postpone giving their real names. 

It was thought another medium, with whom Mrs. S. 
and Miss M. could communicate, might be developed 
with my assistance ; though the attempt would be an 
experiment. The two females having been with me 
when I met Miss B. in New York the preceding spring, 
named her as one who they thought might be made 
such a medium ; one reason for naming her being the 
fact that her father was at this time in their world, and 
they, for reasons not necessary to be specified, believed 
he would co-operate in the matter. Nothing, however, 
was said to him about it at this time. 

As it was doubtful whether another medium with 
whom she could communicate would or could be devel- 
oped, Mrs. S., knowing the difficulty there would be in 
removing her, determined to make an effi3rt to remain 
with me. The scheme on this point as finally agreed 
upon was as follows : — If my friends agreed that Mrs. S. 
should remain with me, I was to be told that my father 
brought her, and wished to have her remain with me, 
and that she had not before seen me. If my friends 



102 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

would not consent to tin's, then an attempt was to be 
made, provided T would assist, to develop another 
medium. If another medium was developed, Miss M. 
was also to be connected with her ; but if not, she would 
be unprovided for, as it was known there would be little 
difficulty in removing her from me. And if Mr, W. 
could not arrange to be connected with me, he was to 
be one of the managers of the other medium. 

Of course, if Mrs. S. and Miss M. were to have control 
of the other medium, individuals of the other world 
would be no more inclined to communicate with their 
friends here through this medium than through others ; 
and therefore Mr, W. would have no inducement to be con- 
nected with the medium. But, as explained to me, those 
of the opposite sexes are the greatest electrical affinities 
— a term which, as here applied, I confess I do not quite 
"understand — and the other medium was to be a female, 
so that a male of the other world would have the con- 
trol. It was the intention if Miss B. was made a medium, 
that her father should be the one having control. 

The alias Mrs, Arnold had been dropped by Mrs. S. 
soon after the arrival of Mr. K., for the reason given ; 
but she found that she had not as much power under 
the alias of Miss Allen as she formerly had under 
that of Mrs. Arnold. I had become acquainted, so to 
speak, with two distinct females, Mrs. S. as Mrs. Arnold, 
and Miss M. as Miss Allen ; and these two females are 
not now precisely alike in character, as they were not in 
our world. As Mrs. S. had concluded not to give me 
her name at this time, she decided to resume the alias 
of Mrs. Arnold. But at the same time, as she had not 
lately used that name, and I had the impression that 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 103 

Mrs. Arnold had left, she apprehended that she might 
not now have her former power under that alias ; for 
these silly females had, from experience, become very 
knowing as to the effect of my mind. 

At the time of Mr. W.'s arrival, I was contemplating 
the visit to Long Branch ; and it was decided, for no 
very profound reason, so far as I can learn, to take 
advantage of this visit for the experiment of resuming 
the alias of Mrs. Arnold, and also for giving me the 
name of Miss M. 

The plan was that on leaving for Long Branch I 
should be told Miss Allen would not accompany me, 
and Mrs. Arnold would. If it was found that Mrs. S. 
under the alias of Mrs. Arnold retained her former 
power, or had more power than under the alias of Miss 
Allen, the latter name was not to be further used ; I 
was to be told, at first, that she had probably been un- 
able to find me, and afterward some other reason would 
be given for her continued absence. If, however, it 
was found that Mrs. S. had now less power under the 
alias of Mrs. Arnold than under that of Miss Allen, 
the latter was to be resumed by her. Miss M. had 
decided to give me her name, representing that she 
visited me for the first time at Long Branch. She 
seems to have hoped that, even if Mrs. S. remained 
with me, I might be induced to assist in developing 
another medium. 

The result of the experiment showed that Mrs. S. 
had now less power under the alias of Mrs. Arnold than 
under that of Miss Allen. When I thought the latter 
was not with me, Miss McCauley became able to annoy 
me by talking. The coarse and vulgar talking on the 



104 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

boat, and during tlie first two days and nights at Long 
Branch, was by her. If she had again given her name 
as Ellen, it would have increased her power ; but, being 
an idiot, she thought she could frighten me more by 
personating a man. It will be recollected that the pre- 
vious efforts to frighten me, when the name Ellen was 
used, were not by her, but by Mrs. S. The alias of 
Miss Allen was resumed by Mrs. S., and ultimately the 
power of Miss McCauley to talk was overcome ; but my 
walking on the bluff and thinking intently of Miss Allen 
had little effect, that not being the action of the mind 
which is most efficient. This occurrence suggested the 
idea of ceasing, for awhile, oral conversation and writing 
when they wished to commuDicate ; a resolution not 
strictly adhered to, however, for the females would talk, 
though much less than formerly. 

The name of Miss M. was given me only once at Long 
Branch; and then I was merely told by Mrs. S. that 
she was present; she did not say any thing herself. 
The name was given me to see what my recollection 
of her would be ; but, as I have said, I could not recol- 
lect her at all. At first, I thought it was a sister, who 
died later ; but immediately remembered that the first 
name of this sister was not Mary, and then recollected 
having heard of the death of Mary M. 

Mr. W. and party, in order to secure the management, 
intended to be of service to me ; and this was to be ac- 
complished by means of communications through me. 
One plan, and the prominent one, which they had in 
view, has been partly explained to me; but it is unne- 
cessary to state it. It was neither a very profound nor 
a silly one, but about such as might have occurred to 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 105 

an individual of our world under similar circumstances. 
But nothing was to be done, in reference to carrying 
out this plan, until I went to New York in the autumn ; 
and before I left Long Branch, an event occurred which 
obliged this party, as was thought, to abandon the idea 
of being connected with me, and caused Mr. W. to aim 
at procuring another medium. 

As stated in the preceding narrative, there is involved 
in the affair of the Count and wife a fraud on the Brit- 
ish nation. It has been, and is still, the cause of some 
expelise to the nation ; how much, I have not taken 
the trouble to ascertain, but presume that, comparative- 
ly speaking, the sum is not very great. Aside from 
this, so fa^' as concerns the British nation, I do not 
know that the fraud has had, or will have any injurious 
effect if it remains undiscovered. But upon this point 
I have not sufficient information to enable me to decide 
intelligently. Be this as it may, with Englishmen the 
expense which the nation has incurred would not be 
the important item. 

Now, although this fraud is not universally known 
in the other world, it is known to many there ; and 
some Englishmen by birth would like to have the 
matter rectified. Mr. W. and party, in endeavoring to 
carry out their plan, had been making certain inquiries, 
and these inquiries were of such a nature that it became 
necessary to state their object It thus became known 
to several that a medium differing from any hitherto 
found had been discovered ; though not who or where 
this medium was. This intelligence reached one who 
had knowledge of the Counts affair, and was by him 
communicated to the Count, with the suggestion that 



106 MODEEN DIABOLISM,! 

this might offer means for rectifying the fraud he had 
committed. The Count on hearing of the matter, and of 
the inducement which Mr, W. and party intended to 
offer in order to secure the manag-ement, conceived the 
same incomprehensible desire to be manager ; and he 
thought he could offer an inducement of the same 
nature as that proposed bj Mr. W., which would be a 
much higher one. He therefore found Mr. W. and 
made known to him his intention. Here was a diffi- 
culty for Mr. W. and party; the Count wished me to 
go to England and remain there, aiid to be himself the 
chief, if not the sole manager. Mr W. thought as the 
Count did, that the inducement which the latter named 
would be a greater one than any he could offer ; and 
he knew that the Count would learn who and where I 
was, and who were my relatives in their world, as soon 
as the latter were spoken to about the management. 
Mr. "W. and party therefore abandoned their scheme. 

But Mr. W. now determined to endeavor to carry out 
the idea he had formerly suggested of developing with 
my aid another medium, and to be connected with the 
latter. I understand that neither Mr. H. or the late 
railway president had any connection with this new 
scheme ; but the latter was induced to postpone speak- 
ing to my friends, and the former never knew them. 
It was the intention of Mr. W. to have some relative or 
friend of the person to be made a medium associated 
with him ; and the Count agreed to aid as far as pos- 
sible. 

Mr. B. was then found, and the proposal to have his 
daughter made a medium submitted to him. There ap- 
pears to have been no particular reason for selecting 



EXPLANATORY KABEATIVE. 107 

Miss B. for the experiment, or ratlier for now making 
the proposal to her father, other than those already 
given. Mr. B. thought favorably of the proposal ; but 
the difficulty was that his daughter could not be made 
such a medium as was wanted without my agency; 
and if developed with my agency, one or both ef the 
two females with me — Mrs. S. and Miss M. — must be 
placed en rapport with her. Of course Mr. W. had to 
state this fact ; and when Mr. B. proposed viaiting me 
to see the females, and converse with me about them, 
Mr. W., fearing from his remarks that he would then 
decline the proposition, refused to conduct liim to me, 
or tell him where I was. At this time I was at Long 
Branch, and the pretended visit of Mr, B. there was 
merely a personation. 

Mr. W. next made the proposition to others of his 
world, but met with the same difficulty. In these 
elibrts, and in farther attempts at negotiation with Mr. 
B. the time was passed until I went to New York in 
the autumn. The Count waited for two reasons : first, 
because, he did not know where I was or who were my 
friends in his world ; and second, because he wished 
the two females to leave me, and understood the easiest 
mode of accomplishing this would be the development 
of another medium for them. 

My name had been given Mr. B., and as he knew 
where I boarded the preceding winter, and that I would 
probably be at the same hotel the coming one, he would 
have found me. Mr. W., therefore, after I returned to 
New York, concluded to conduct him to me. In "Oc- 
tober he was brought to my room at the hotel in New 
York. He was told that he had been personated at Long 



108 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

Branch, and therefore, either thoughtlessly or foolishly, 
stated that he had visited me there, as a test of identity. 
Such an incident as he next gave, and which at the time 
satisfied me, would not "now, unsupported by further 
evidence, have the same effect ; for this incident occur- 
red at a time when, as I am informed, one of the other 
world was most of the time with me ; and if either Mrs, 
S. or Miss M. had then been with me, and en rapport, 
they could have narrated all that Mr. B. did. 

After his visit. Mr. B. consented, or at least partially 
consented, to the proposition of Mr. "W. In partial ex- 
planation of this it should be recollected that Mr. B. 
was to be placed intimately en rajjport with his daugh- 
ter, and that it was presumed his power with her would 
be greater than that of Mrs. S. ; also that, if so desired, 
Mrs. S. could be removed. The reason Mrs. S. must 
be placed en rapport, in case my friends would not con- 
sent that she should remain with me, was, that the ne- 
cessary communications through me could not be made 
against her opposition. 

As it was deemed necessary to secure the concurrence 
and influence of my relatives in the other world, the 
scheme — embracing the proposal of the Count, and mak- 
ing a medium of Miss B. — was then submitted to my 
father, who assented to letting me decide for myself 
after I had learned the facts. But on submitting it to 
my mother and sisters, they, or, at least, my mother and 
the sister most frequently referred to, made strenuous 
objections, and said they should endeavor to prevent 
me from either accepting the proposal of the Count, or 
assisting in the development of another medium. It 
seems that to neither of these did the proposition of the 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 109 

Count seem so visionary and impracticable as it did to 
me. Its success would mainly depend on the influence 
which the Count and others of his world might be able 
to exert through me in case I withheld the knowledge 
of the former's present character. 

My relatives were not informed where I was, and they 
thought I was not in New York ; but as they were now 
advised of my situation, they would eventually have 
found me, and therefore it was finally decid d to bring 
them. Several periods had been named within which 
I would be " relieved ; " the last named would expire on 
the second Monday in December, and Mr. W. concluded 
to bring my relatives on that day ; first, however, bring- 
ing the Count and letting him submit to me his propo- 
sition. The Count was brought two days prior to that 
date. I was told in the morning that he would come 
at four o'clock in the afternoon, and at the latter hour 
it was represented that he had just arrived ; but, in fact, 
when I was informed in the m^orning of the proposed 
visit he was present, and remained with me all day. 

The plan was that if I decided to go to England, 
Miss B. was to be induced by her father to accompany 
me, with some lady as companion ; and this seems to 
have suggested to Mr. W. a very silly idea. He named 
a lady to accompany Miss B., but requested me to sug- 
gest her when the Count came as being my own selec- 
tion. The Count was present at the time, and the idea 
was to show him that I was not naturally given to de- 
ception. But, as I knew that the Count, if placed en 
rapport with me, could read my mind, and thus perceive 
that the selection was not my own, the device was a very 
shallow one. The second test as to my honesty made 



110 MODERN DIABOLISM. " „ 

by the Count, was a more reliable one, for at tlie mo- 
ment I did not perceive the absurdity of the proposed 
scheme. But the idea of these liars thus testing my 
honesty has since appeared to me rather fanny. 

Why the Count chose to write so much nonsense it 
would be useless to conjecture; the story he told 
certainly appeared much worse, both for himself and 
wife, than the facts. The reason he did not make 
me, at the first sitting, the proposition submitted to my 
relatives was, the repugnance evinced towards it by my 
mother and sister. His first intention on coming to me 
was, to try to induce me to go to England and remain 
a few years ; but after the first sitting he decided to sub- 
mit the original proposition, and see how I viewed it. 
The absurd proposal made at the first sitting that I 
should go over to act as tutor to a child yet unborn, 
seems to have been suggested to his crazy brain by the 
following facts : — His daughter, the legal heiress, is mar- 
ried to a Grerman, and is living in Grermany. Her hus- 
band's rank and position there are such that he would 
not go to England to reside ; and the Count, with oth- 
ers, thought that one of the daughters' sons would be 
made the heir, and be educated in England. As for 
my tutorship, the position would not suit me, and I 
would not suit the position. The Count must have 
known at least the latter fact, and I hardly understand 
what his real idea was, if, indeed, he had any definite 
one. 

But one peculiarity about the Ijnng of these people 
of the other world is, that they lie when the truth would 
better serve their purpose. The truth as to the illegiti- 
macy of the children would, for the Count, have ap- 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. Ill 

peared better than the falsehood ; so would * also the 
real reason for proposing that Miss B. should accom- 
pany me to England ; and the truth about this tutor- 
ship, whatever his idea may have been, would have 
better sei'ved his purpose than the idiotic proposal he 
made. He must have known, if he knew anything, 
that these and other falsehoods written by him would 
have to be contradicted, and the facts given before I 
went to England ; and it seems strange, especially as he 
knew that he would meet with opposition from some 
of my relatives, that he should not, at this visit, have 
tried to avoi4 letting me know that he was such an in- 
veterate liar. The explanation of the matter must be 
that he is now almost an idiot 

The Count had an object in writing so much, which 
was to become as much en rapport as possible before 
my friends were brought. Except Miss M., he was the 
first that Mrs. S. had endeavored to place intimately en 
rapport with me. She hoped that if the Count was suc- 
cessfal she would be permitted to remain with me. 
The fact that the Count was the first visitor who com- 
municated with me, to any extent, otherwise than as a 
personator, was one cause, and probably the main one, 
for my being so strongly impressed that the writer was 
the person he represented himself to be. 

On the second Monday in December, 1864, my rel- 
atives were brought ; and with them came my acquaint- 
ance the late railway president, who until that time had 
not known where I was. In giving me the nan'ative 
up to this date, my friends have been obliged to balance 
the contradictory statements of liars, and partly guess 
at the truth ; but as the narrative appears to be cohe- 



112 MODERN" DIABOLISM. 

rent, I infer that it must be nearly, if not entirely, accu- 
rate. 

How Mr. W. and his associates expected to explain 
their statement that I would be " relieved " this day, 
which meant relieving me of Miss McCauley, is not very 
clear ; but they must have assumed that I was to be 
kept in ignorance of a portion of the facts. As I un- 
derstand the matter, the party believed, as my friends 
did, and appear still to believe, that if I had gone to 
England, in accordance with the proposition of the 
Count, accompanied by Mrs. S., I would soon have been 
relieved of Miss McCauley ; and if another medium had 
been developed, I would have been relieved of Mrs. S. 
also. 

"When my friends came, Mrs. S. insisted on an agree- 
ment that she might remain with me in case another 
medium was not developed ; and as my friends refused 
to enter into such an agreement, she would not permit 
them to communicate with me. The writing purporting 
to be by my father and mother was, as I supposed, by- 
Mrs. S. 

The matter was discussed until I went to be^ ; then 
my friends determined to make an attempt to place one 
or more of my relatives en rapport with me. In my 
normal condition, this could not have been effected ; but 
it was thought that the connection of Mrs. S. with me 
made it possible. This attempt caused the disturbances 
during the night. 

The result of the night's operations caused my friends 
to hope that my mother and a sister — the one who was 
first personated — might soon become so intimately en 
rwpport with me that Mrs. S. and Miss McCauley could 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 113 

safely be removed. It appears a little strange that this 
sister, who died about tweutj-six years prior to this 
time, was a closer affinity — as they term it — than an- 
other sister who died only about five years previous ; 
but the former more nearly resembled me in color of 
the hair and complexion. 

Miss M. was at once removed from close proximity 
to me, so that she was not an interference ; and the only 
reason assigned for not sooner advising me of this fact 
is, that it was desired to prevent the concentration of 
my mind on Miss McCauley. Several male friends re- 
mained constantly with me, to prevent interference, and 
also to give their advice to my mother and sister. The 
Count was permitted to remain for the reason that, hav- 
ing become en rapport, he was able, and did, render as- 
sistance. Why he chose to remain, I do not clearly 
understand ; he may have believed that I would accept 
his proposition, but it is probable that he would have 
remained with me whether he had any definite object in 
view or not. The explanation of this first night's oc- 
currences given the next day, and purporting to be by 
the Count, was, of course, by Mrs. S. 

Mrs. S. had formerly endeavored to make me be- 
lieve that my friends visited me ; but fi-om the time they 
really came, it was her policy to make me believe the 
contrary, and she asserted that they were unable to find 
me. My sitting and holding my hand for writing did 
not much aid my mother and sister ; that is, holding 
my hand for this purpose did not, as the power of Mrs. 
S. in this respect was much greater than theirs. But 
the thinking^ while seated at the table, of my mother or 
sister as being present, did greatly aid them, and there- 



114 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

fore Mrs. S. used various expedients to prevent the 
practice, one of which, was the personation of Mr. B. 

As the name of Mr. B. and his daughter had been 
frequently used, and I had therefore frequently thought 
of them, Mrs. S. had obtained some facts concerning the 
former from my mind. When she told me in the morn- 
ing that Mr. B. would be brought in the afternoon of 
the same day, and that I might test his identity as I 
pleased, she hoped that my questions would be such as 
she would be able to answer. But when I wrote the 
series of questions, she found that she could not answer 
one of them ; and therefore subsequently told me that 
Mr. B. could not come. Afterward, however, she 
thought that she had obtained, in another way, answers 
to the first two questions ; and at the sitting which had 
been arranged — but at which only herself wrote — said 
that Mr. B. was present 

The first two questions were, as to the number of the 
building occupied by Mi\ B., and the name of his suc- 
cessor. Two of the facts obtained from my mind, both 
by Mrs. S. and Miss M., were, an approximately cor- 
rect idea of the location of the building, and of the na- 
ture of the business. Miss M., who remained most of 
the time in my vicinity, and who still hoped that an- 
other medium would be developed, on being told by 
Mrs. S. what the questions were, went in search of some 
one who could give the answers to these two questions. 
She found a female who had purchased goods of the 
class named, at a store which she thought was in the 
locality described ; and this female also thought she 
recollected the name of the proprietor and the number 
of tJae store. These items were given by Miss M. to 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 115 

Mrs. S., who made of the difficulty in writing an excuse 
for not answering the other questions. 

The idea here occurred to mo that, as my friends did 
not know but Miss M, might procure correct informa- 
tion, they should either have prevented her from going 
in search of it, or from communicating to Mrs. S. what 
she had received. Whether, if communication was less 
difficult, I should be able fully to comprehend the other 
world and its inhabitants, I cannot say ; but, as it is, I 
certainly do not. As I am informed, it would not have 
been impossible to prevent Miss M. from leaving, or 
from again approaching so near Mrs. S. as to be able to 
communicate her information. But either course would 
have been less feasible than with us ; and the matter 
was thought to be of no great importance, as I should 
soon have been undeceived. 

The name of Mr. W. was given for the first time at 
this sitting. It was given by Mrs. S., who at this time 
feared that my friends would succeed, and that she 
would have to leave me ; and her object in giving the 
name was to ascertain if I would be disposed to aid in 
developing a medium to be under the management of 
Mr. W. The proposal to give me the name, or title, of 
the father of the illegitimate children of the Count's 
wife was also by Mrs. S. Both the Count and Mr. W. 
were present, but neither was permitted to communi- 
cate with me. 

My discovery, previous to this date, of the influence 
which Mrs. S., alias Miss Allen, was able to exert upon 
my mind, was owing to the counteracting influence of 
my mother and sister. I have said that my sensations 
on the evening after the above sitting were, that a foreign 



116 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

influence was being exerted to induce belief in state- 
ments whicli my judgment pronounced false. But the 
truth is that the moment Mrs. S. commenced exerting 
her influence, my mother and sister commenced exerting 
theirs ; and as both opposing influences could not have 
prevailed at the same instant, my sensations must have 
deceived me on this point. These influences were only 
temporary ; and, in any event, my judgment would 
ultimately have pronounced the statements false. 

As my mother and sister were gaining power, and 
Mrs. S. had, as she now thought, failed in her efforts to 
induce me to discontinue my sittings, she concluded to 
permit my father to communicate with me ; but this 
conclusion must have been based upon the belief that 
she could induce him to conceal the facts relative to her. 
My father was less opposed to the proposition of the 
Count and the plan for developing another medium than 
my mother and this sister ; or, more properly, he was 
not, under existing circumstances, at all opposed to 
either. What purported to be the confession of Annie 
Morford, was in furtherance of a rather imperfectly de- 
fined scheme of Mrs. S. to have her past connection with 
me concealed. But as she failed to effect any arrange- 
ment during the night, in the morning she again asserted 
that the Count had visited me — which she had contra- 
dicted in the confession of the previous evening — and 
refused to let my father communicate. 

Mrs. S. perceived that the only hold she had on my 
mind for inducing belief in her connection with any 
scheme, was the fact that I was not entirely convinced 
the Count had never communicated with me. In ask- 
ing for three days more of time for the party to make 



EXPLANATORY NAERATIVE. 117 

an arrangement, her idea was that she might, m that 
time, effect one for herself; for there was a diiference of 
opinion with the advisers surroundi g me as to what 
was the best course under the circumstances. Not being 
able to effect any arrangement during the three days, 
she still refused to let any one communicate with me. 

When, on the next Sunday evening, I sat for the pur- 
pose of learning something from the female who ap- 
peared to be opposing the one still calling herself Miss 
Allen, the dread, or horror I experienced was caused by 
my mother and sister. The one who then wrote as the 
opposing party was Mrs. S. ; and although the descrip- 
tion given did not at all resemble that of Miss Allen or 
Mrs. Arnold, nor the appearance of Mrs. S. when in our 
world, yet my mother and sister feared that the writing 
might increase the power of Mrs. S., and created the 
dread to make me stop. As I understand the matter, 
when all three were exerting their power, the writing, 
considered by itself — or assuming that I did not think 
of any one as performing it — increased the power of 
Mrs. S. ; or, at least, did not diminish it, nor increase 
that of my mother and sister. It was the thinking of 
the latter two which increased their power; and even 
thinking of my father as present did, through the exer- 
tion of his will, increase the rapport of my mother and 
sister with me — a mysterious operation which I confess 
I do not fully understand. 

It will be perceived that the belief I arrived at about 
this time that my friends in the other world might not 
know of my situation or where I was, would have been 
correct several months previous ; but it is doubtful if 
visiting other mediums would have apprised them of the. 



118 ' MODERN" DIABOLISM. ~ 

fa^ts. Wten, on my return from Trenton in tlie suc- 
ceeding autumn, I did visit other mediums, my friends 
made little effort to have me learn the truth, knowing 
that such efforts would be useless. 

As stated in the preceding narrative, after visiting 
these mediums without any result, I decided to endeavor 
to divert my mind from the subject, and to forget, as 
far as possible, that invisible beings were with me. This 
was what Mrs. S. had been aiming at ; and my mother 
and sister, finding that they could not by any ordinary 
efforts cause me to think of them, commenced extraor- 
dinary efforts on the night of the 23d of November, 
as soon as I went to bed. And as they perceived that 
their power was very much increased by these efforts, 
they renewed them every night for a week or more ; 
and, in fact, extraordinary efforts, with occasional re- 
laxations to permit me to sleep more soundly, were con- 
tinued until my mother had identified herself. The 
diminution in the apparent effect upon my brain was 
partly owing to the increase of the power, or rapport, 
of my mother and sister ; but partly, also, to the fact 
that they were obliged to relax their efforts in Order 
that I might rest better at night. 

The writing about the first of February (1866), pur- 
porting to be by the opposing female, was by Mrs. S. 
It was extremely difficult for her to write a word at this 
time, as the power of my mother and sister had much 
increased, and I did not think of Miss Allen as the writer. 
Her idea in writing the sentence, " Because they are so 
much better than you," in reply to my question as to 
why my friends could not communicate with me, was, 
of course, "to make oae believe that all efforts to get com- 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 119 

municatioDS direct from them would be hopeless; for 
she perceived that I had a strong impression thej were 
present. 

"When I sat down on Sunday, May 6, 1866, to en- 
deavor to get a communication from my mother, such 
power had been gained that she, with the aid of my 
sister, was able to identify herself, though with great 
diflS.culty. 

When, subsequently, I undertook the task of procur- 
ing sufficient infbnnation to enable me to write a book 
upon the subject, Mrs. S. sometimes assisted, and some- 
times opposed. She was told, and believed, that if I 
gave a correct explanation of the phenomena, the book 
would gain credence, and the author become known, 
even if the name was not given. And as the same plan 
was stated in the former work as in this for the devel- 
opment of another medium of a higher order than the 
present ones, she believed that I would be solicited by 
persons of our world to aid in the development of one, 
with whom she might manage to be connected. Her 
intention was that the explanatory narrative should be 
so written as to produce this result As published, 
however, it differed very little from the present one. 

Mrs. S. would not consent that her name should be 
given me, and my friends did not think it advisable to 
give it, fearing that if I was aware of her presence her 
power would be increased. The name of Miss M. as 
being that of the one assisting, was given by Mrs. S., 
apparently without any definite purpose. 

In order to secure the assistance of Mrs. S. it was 
necessary sometimes to permit her to give her own 
statements ; and therefore the explanatory nan'ative as 



120 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

first written was far from correct. It was not tlie in- 
tention of my friends to permit its publication in that 
form ; and, in fact, while Mrs. S. wished the narrative 
to be so written as to produce the development of an- 
other medium, my mother and sister were desirous that 
it should discourage any such attempt. 

When I attempted to have the narrative corrected, I 
only endeavored to get corrections of such statements 
as appeared to me altogether improbable or incoherent ; 
and therefore all the errors were not corrected ; though, 
with the exception of the idea that it was physically 
impossible to remove the females, the following is the 
only one of any importance that was published : 

The explanation of the attempt to give the number 
of the store lately occupied by Mr. B., and the name of 
his successor, was, that having, as was thought, obtained 
from my mind a correct idea of the location of the store 
and nature of the business, one of the females went down 
Broadway and found such a store in what she thought was 
the location of that occupied by Mr. B., and read the 
name, and, as she thought, the number over the store ; 
that the error in writing the name found was owing to 
the interference of my friends ; and that the error of 
giving the number of the adjoining store was owing to 
the facts that this number was placed near the end 
of the sign (over the store thought to be the correct 
one), while the correct number was partly hidden by the 
sign. 

The latter facts were obtained from my mind, as I 
ascertained them on looking for the number given the 
day following the attempt at the personation. At the 
time, the explanation did not seem to me improbable ; 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 121 

bat, as now informed, those of the other world cannot 
distinguish the colors of ours, and therefore cannot read 
our painted signs or numbers. The explanation first 
given shows how aimlessly those of the other world will 
lie ; for Mrs. S. could have had no definite object in 
view in giving such a statement 



CHAPTER IV. 

' EXPLANATION OF INTEODUCTORT NAEEATIVE 
CONCLUDED. 

After tlie completion of tlie former work, tlie efforts 
of my friends were directed towards the removal of 
Miss McCauley ; for whicli purpose special attempts 
were made to place mj sister intimately en rapport. 
Mrs. S. was induced at times, and to a certain extent, to 
assist, by the assurance that another medium would be 
developed. But the difficulty here was, that she knew 
my mother and sister would oppose the development 
of another medium; and she also knew that if Miss 
McCauley was removed, her own removal would be less 
difficult. Consequently her co-operation never was 
very hearty; and she constantly aimed at increasing, 
or, at least, at preventing the diminution of her own 
power. 

In a short time my sister became able to converse 
orally with me, but only by the exertion of the will of 
Mrs. S. ; and she was obliged to agree to say nothing 
that Mrs. S. objected to. 

No explanation of farther occurrences is required 
until we come to those in the spring of 1869. Before 
this time, my friends had become convinced that it 
would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove Miss 



EXPLANATORY NAUEATIVE. 123 

McCauley without the hearty co-operation of Mrs. S. ; 
and the question was, how to secure this. My mother 
and sister were still opposed to the development of an- 
other medium ; but it was- finally decided that the name 
of Mrs. S. should be given me, and that I should be 
told the facts relative to her, in order to ascertain how I 
would feel upon the subject. Of course, I could not 
agree to any such plan until I understood all tlie facts 
bearing upon the case ; and I insisted that Miss McCau- 
ley should first be removed, so that communication 
might be less difficult, and I could get the advice of 
those upon whose judgment I could place reliance ; for 
I supposed that there must be some such in the other 
world. 

The agreement under which I went to England, it 
will be recollected, conceded the latter point ; I was first 
to be relieved of Miss McCauley, and then, after taking 
the advice of those I thought most competent to give 
it, to decide whether I would aid in the development of 
another medium. As I have said in the "preceding nar- 
rative, I cannot give the reasons advanced why I should 
go to England before the removal of Miss McCauley, 
an operation which would require some time. Some 
of the reasons urged by the Count were frivolous ; but 
the main one, the one upon which I acted, and which 
had reference solely to my being relieved as soon as 
possible of the presence of Miss McCauley and Mrs. S., 
was, as I am now informed, a valid one. 

Until I came to this point in the narrative, I had sup- 
posed that the Count, in this scheme, deceived all my 
friends ; and it has been to me a mystery why, such 
being the fact, he was permitted to remain with me. 



124 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

But I now learn that sucli was not the fact. It appears 
that my fruitless voyage to England was the result of, 
what I consider, a childish scheme formed by some of 
my professed friends — persons of more sense when in 
our world than this scheme indicates. 

At this time my mother and sister were so much en 
rapport with me that nothing could be done without 
their co-operation ; and, although they were anxious 
that the two females should be removed, they would not 
consent to the only practicable plan for accomplishing 
this, namely, the development of another medium.* 
How Mrs. S. was induced to believe that I would aid 
in this after the removal of Miss McCauley, I do not 
quite understand, but it seems that she did so believe. 
My mother and sister, however, consented to advise me 
to go to England under the agreement entered into, be- 
cause they believed that I would not aid in the matter ; 
and they intended to exert their influence to prevent 
my doing so. The Count, it seems, had no desire to 
make known the fraud he had committed, unless by do- 
ing so he could become connected with a medium ; and 
he also thought it doubtful whether I woidd aid in de- 
veloping another ; besides, it was far from certain that 
one could be developed through whom he could com- 
municate. 

Under these circumstances, the scheme was formed to 
induce me to go to England. My male friends under- 
stood that the Count would not carry out his part of the 
plan agreed upon unless his original proposition was 

* It wiU, of course, be understood that I do not state this matter 
precisely as given me by my sister, but state the facts, so far as 
given, in my own language. 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 126 

accepted bj me ; but they deemed it advisable, under 
the circumstances, that it should be accepted ; and be- 
lieved that if I went to England, my mother and sister, 
rather than have me return disappointed, would cease 
their opposition, or, at least, would permit all the facts 
bearing upon the case to be stated, and let me decide for 
myself. 

K the Count's proposition had been accepted by me, 
Mrs. S. would, probably, have assisted in the removal 
of Miss McCauley, for the same reason that she would 
have done so under the agreement entered into ; that 
part of the plan w^ould not have been changed. And if, 
after the removal of Miss McCauley, I declined to aid 
in the development of another medium, the removal of 
Mrs. S. could have been effected ; though if she stopped 
talking, and did not in any way annoy me, it would 
have been a matter of indifference to me whether she 
was removed or not 

The result of the scheme was about such as might 
have been expected. When my mother and sister, after 
I had sailed for England, were informed that the Count 
would not carry out his part of the plan agreed upon 
unless his original proposition was accepted, and per- 
ceived -how they had been entrapped into advising me to 
go under false pretences, they were, of course, very indig- 
nant ; and my mother, especially, had such a repugnance 
to this proposal that she was inclined to prevent, if 
possible, any communication with the parties I went over 
to visit 

But Mrs. S. still wished to bring about such a meet- 
ing, hoping that if this was effected something would be 
agreed upon. When I sat down in London for the letter 



126 MODEKN DIABOLISM. 

to be written, as agreed upon, Mrs. S., finding that tlie 
Count would not write or dictate one, attempted, at each 
sitting to write one herself which I would believe 
genuine and send, hoping that this would lead to an 
interview ; though she could have had no definite idea 
as to any result As she failed at the first sitting to 
imitate the Count's style, at the second she told 
me his mother-in-law would write, thinking she might 
thus succeed in deceiving me. These attempts were, of 
course, very childish. Even if there had been no inter- 
ference, she could not have written a letter which would 
have deceived me ; if I had been deceived, my mother 
or sister could have undeceived me before the letter was 
sent ; and even if it had been sent, as neither the Count 
or the mother-in-law would have been identified, it 
would have received no attention. 

Of course all efibrts to effect an arrangement did not 
cease when I left London ; and when, in Paris, Mrs. S. 
stated that the letter would be written at some point in 
my travels, she hoped it would be done. The object in 
telling me this was to prevent me from making any ar- 
rangement to sail from a French port for home. If the 
letter had been written, I should have retained it until T 
returned to England ; but my mother, fearing the Count 
might conclude to write, and that I would at once mail 
the letter, made extraordinary efforts in the following 
night to give me the brief communication stated in the 
preceding narrative. 

The suspicions of my mother and sister were so aroused 
by the discovery of the scheme described, that, as I 
understand the matter, it would have been difficult to 
have carried out the plan agreed upon, even if the Count 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 127 

had consented to assist The course taken by my 
mother and sister was, as concerns me, a very strange 
one; and I find it difficult to understand the change 
individuals undergo on passing into the other world. 
The whole matter should, of course, have been submitted 
for my decision. If I had known all the facts, I should, 
probably, have accepted the proposition of, the Count ; 
although under ordinary circumstances I would not have 
done so. I have stated that Mr. W. and party thought 
it an inducement with which they could not hope to 
compete successfully ; but it did not appear to me so 
very attractive. I still think it was a visionary and im- 
practicable scheme ; but if I had entered into it, whether 
it failed or not, it would not have interfered with the 
plan upon which I went over. 

The explanation of the difficulty given by my sister 
after I had engaged my passage home was not a full one, 
and therefore did not make the matter clear to me. It 
appears, however, that while my mothers main objec- 
tion to the proposition of the Count was the association 
in our world proposed, that of my sister had reference 
more particularly to my serving as a medium for the 
Count and his friends. The truth appears to be that 
the objections of my sister to my serving as a medium 
for this party, or developing another for them, were of 
a religious, or, more correctly, sectarian character; for 
there are different religious views in the other world as 
in ours, and she feared that false doctiines would be 
promulgated. 

At the sitting when my sister gave the explanation 
referred to, the Count stated that his story about the 
illegitimacy of his wife's children was a fiction ; for he 



128 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

feared that I would retiirn so indignant at his deception 
that I would make the facts known if I continued to 
believe them. It would, of course, have been very silly 
to have stated these facts, even if there was any incen 
tive for doing so, as no one would have believed me. 

The fact that my male friends, or professed friends, 
connived at the deception of the Count, explains why 
he was- not removed, as my mother and sister had not 
power to remove him ; but why he should have desired 
to remain with me I cannot understand. 

I have not attempted to learn what discussions took 
place after my return from England, but it was finally 
decided to attempt the removal of Miss McCauley ; and 
I was then, for the first time, told my true situation. 
It was thought the co-operation of Mrs. S. would be had, 
as there appeared to be no other way of getting another 
medium developed, or of inducing me to act as such, 
than this removal. 

On the night of January 26 (1870), the operation was 
commenced, but suspended when the sinking of my 
pulse was perceived- On after consultation, it was 
thought the operation might safely have been performed, 
and it was decided to make another trial. The second 
experiment was carried farther than the first ; and, for 
a moment, there were apprehensions that it had been 
carried too far. It was the Count who said, " You 
are going, sir," and he thought, or said he did, that I 
was dying. I recovered so quickly, however, that it 
was still thought the operation might have been com- 
pleted; and some of the party advised that another trial 
should be made. I was then told that the removal of 
the two females (it will be recollected that at this time 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 129 

I thought there were two besides Mrs. S.) had been ef- 
fected, and that Mrs. S. was the one still opposing my 
friends. 

It appears that in consequence of the effect of the 
first trial, my imagination, or thinking during this sec- 
ond one of what the result might be, had such an inju- 
rious effect that it was deemed advisable to take this 
course. The trouble, so far as I could judge at the 
time,*was in the action of my heart ; and it was the un- 
avoidable direction of my mind to the action of this or- 
gan which increased the difficulty. By telling me that 
the removal of Miss McCauley, the most dangerous one, 
had been effected, and that the removal of Mrs. S. would 
affect only my head, it was hoped to avoid this inju- 
rious operation of my mind. It was also thought the 
effect on my mind, and consequently its injurious ac- 
tion, would be less in daylight than in darkness ; and it 
was therefore decided to make the next attempt in the 
morning. 

All these directions were given by persons who had 
been physicians in our world ; and the conversation 
with me was by the Count. In order that my mother 
or sister should talk with me, certain changes were ne- 
cessary which during an operation of this kind could not 
safely be made ; the Count therefore was chosen to do 
the necessary talking. 

But during the night preceding the morning fixed 
upon for the third trial, it was decided to postpone it. 
The only explanation of the Count's statement in the 
morning that Mrs. S. was removed, and that, conse- 
quently, I was relieved of all three of the females, is, 
that as I had been told her removal would have little 



180 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

effect upon me, no plausible reason could be given for 
the postponement ; and he tbougbt I could be made to 
believe that I was relieved until Miss McCauley would 
be removed, which he supposed could soon be effected. 
I think it would have been impossible to have made me 
believe this for any length of time, even if Mrs, S. had 
been willing that I should believe it, for I should soon 
have perceived there was at least one opposing my 
mother and sister. But Mrs. S. feared that if I contin- 
ued to believe for any considerable length of time that 
she was removed, her rapport would be lessened ; and 
she therefore commenced talking almost immediately 
after the Count told me she was removed. 

It was believed by the party, including the physicians, 
that the removal of Miss McCauley could be effected 
within less than one year from that time ; and therefore 
my mother, when I subsequently made the inquiry, 
named that period. 

The assertions subsequently made that I would be " re- 
lieved " before the close of the year 1870 were, with the 
exception of that made on the last day of the year, by 
Mrs. S. ; though my Mends hoped such would be the 
fact. The operation was postponed from time to time 
until the last day of the year 1870 had arrived ; then, 
as the assertions of Mrs. S. had not been contradicted, 
and I had consequently formed the hope of being re- 
lieved before the close of the year, it was decided to 
make the attempt during the coming night. The inten- 
tion at this time was, to make the experiment while I 
was asleep, and if that appeared to be an unfavorable 
time, to postpone the operation until I awoke in the 
morning. 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 131 

In tlae afternoon of December 31st my sister informed 
me that it was intended to mate the removal during the 
coming night ; and told me to recollect that she would 
be unable again to speak to me until after the operation 
had been performed. This admonition was partly in 
consequence of what the Count had spoken during the 
last attempt His assertion that I was " going," or dy- 
ing, was injudicious ; and my sister did not know what 
he or Mrs. S. might say to me during the coming oper- 
ation. 

I am unable to give an explanation of the course of 
Mrs. S. which will appear a rational one ; for it was as 
variable as that of a vicious child. It will be under- 
stood tliat it was the exertion of her will that was re- 
quired, not any physical effort. Her will was favorably 
exerted during the former attempts ; but since that time 
her course had been inconstant and unreliable ; which 
is one reason why a third attempt was not earlier made. 
She promised her assistance on this occasion ; but at 
the last moment insisted that an agTcement should be 
entered into, either that she might remain with me, or 
that another medium should be developed- My mother 
and sister would concede neither of these points, and 
therefore the operation was again necessaiily postponed. 
At the moment of my awaking in the morning, my sis- 
ter succeeded in telling me that the removal had not 
been effected ; but the subsequent talking was by Mrs. 
S. The latter, personating my sister, attempted to make 
me believe the removal had been made, and that she 
was the one now acting in opposition to my mother and 
sister — an idea which she probably got from the Count's 
former statement to the same effect — hoping some ar- 



132 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

rangement would be made, and that the removal of 
Miss McCauley would be effected without my learning 
she had caused the postponement. Failing in this, the 
Count said the removal was an impossibility. 

What the Count really believed was, probably, that 
the removal could not be effected without the co-oper- 
ation of Mrs. S. ; and the statement was made for the 
purpose of preparing me for receiving some kind of a 
proposal. Of course, the efforts made subsequent to 
my return from England, had tended to confirm my 
male friends in the opinion that the Count's proposition 
should have. been accepted; and the latter now hoped 
it would be. 

But my mother and sister would yield nothing ; they 
would not even consent that the matter should be left 
to my decision. Mrs. S. was therefore told by my male 
friends that if she did not assist, the next move would 
be her removal. She then promised her assistance; 
but it was deemed advisable that, before again attempt- 
ing the operation, my mother and sister should, if pos- 
sible, gain such control that the removal could be ef- 
fected with safety, even if at the time Mrs. S. did not 
assist. It was still hoped this might be done within 
the period first named by my mother ; that is, some of 
the male advisers so thought, others did not 

The course of Mrs. S. was subsequently about the 
same as before ; she, ostensibly at least, aided my mother 
and sister, but constantly aimed at increasing her own 
power. The extraordinary efforts of my mother and 
sister, after the expiration of the year first named, were 
the cause of the annoyances I suffered at night ; and 
when the former in the night said, " Bear it one month 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 133 

longer," it was her intention that if at the expiration of 
that period thej were unable to remove Miss McCauley, 
the efforts should cease. The efforts did then cease for 
awhile, and negotiations were entered into. 

The plan then agreed upon was somewhat of a com- 
promise with Mrs. S. ; but, as it was soon abandoned, it 
is not necessary to give a full explanation. It involved 
the attempt to place the mother-in-law of the Count in- 
timately en rapport with me. This was found to be im- 
practicable; the Duchess — her late title — and myself 
are not, as they term it, affinities. 

My mother and sister then renewed their former ef- 
forts; but, so far as I can learn, without any reasonable 
prospect of success. The efforts to place the Duchess 
en rapport with me caused me little annoyance, because, 
not being measures tending to the immediate removal 
of Miss McCauley, they were less violent ; but when my 
mother and sister renewed their former efforts, the dis- 
turbances at night were renewed. 

They did not acquire such control that the removal 
of Miss McCauley could safely be effected without 
the assistance of Mrs. S. at the time of the operation. 
Biit my mother, apparently without any good reason, 
again believed in the promise of Mrs. S. that her assist- 
ance would be given ; and therefore, near the close of 
the year IS'/l, told me I would soon be relieved. 

The last night of this year was not definitely decided 
upon, as had been that of the former year, as the time 
for performing the operation ; for most of my friends 
had no confidence in the promises of Mrs. S. But the 
latter assured me when I went to bed on this night, that 
Miss McCauley would be removed during the night ; 



134 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

and as it was thought possible this might be done, her 
assertion was not contradicted. 

As I understand the matter, what was wanted was the 
exertion of the will of Mrs. S. to place my sister more 
intimately en rapport with me at the moment when the 
connection between Miss McCauley and myself was 
severed ; and, as I have already stated, the dif&culty in 
securing this was, that Mrs. S. knew, or believed, that 
after Miss McCauley was removed, her own removal 
could be accomplished with little difS.culty. Although 
Mrs. S. did not at this time positively refuse to lend her 
assistance, it was perceived that it could not be relied 
on, and therefore no attempt at removal was made. My 
mother then insisted that all efforts should cease ; and 
in the morning, at the moment of my awaking, told me 
that it was impossible to relieve me. Her reason for 
telling me this was that there was a difference of opin- 
ion on this point between her and my sister. The latter 
was unwilling to relinquish the undertaking ; and my 
mother thought if I believed, as she did, that my sister 
was causing me useless annoyances, she would cease 
her efforts. 

But it was finally decided to attempt the removal of 
Mrs. S. ; for if she would not assist, she was an impedi- 
ment For this purpose, my mother again co-operated. 
Mrs. S. was removed, though only for a brief interval, 
in the night of January 14th, which caused the piercing 
pain in my head. She was again removed on the night 
of the 18th of the same month, soon after I had retired ; 
but in the morning, as there was no abatement of the 
intense pain, she was returned. Her return alleviated 
the pain, but did not entirely remove it. She was 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 135 

again removed on the night of the 24th of the same 
month, soon after I went to bed ; and in the morning 
was again returned for the same reason as before. This 
ended these experiments. 

As the pain was less the third night than the second, 
it is probable that if there had been no other difiiculty, 
the operations might have been continued until the re- 
moval was made final. But such a state of debility was 
produced by the temporary removals that it was thought 
advisable to proceed no further. 

The removal of Mrs. S. operated very differently from 
that of Miss McCauley. The immediate effect of the 
removal of the former was merely intense pain in my 
head ; no effect appeared to be produced upon the action 
of my heart; and the ultimate result was extreme 
nausea, loss of appetite, and debility. The attempts to 
remove Miss McCauley produced, in the first instance, 
faintness ; in the second, violent palpitation of the heart ; 
and it was feared immediate death would be the result 
of actual removal. It thus appears that the connection 
of Miss McCauley was at that time of a more vital nature 
than that of Mrs. S. has ever been ; and the reason stated 
is that she was the first to become en rapport. But as 
Miss McCauley had, even then, much less control of my 
nervous organization than Mrs. S., not being able to 
write with my hand or converse orally with me when 
the latter opposed, it is a matter which I cannot under- 
stand. It appears, however, to be understood by, at 
least, some of those of the other world with me ; for 
when the Count, at the time of the attempts to remove 
Miss McCauley, told me that the removal of Mrs. S. 



186 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

would affect only my head, not the action of my heart, 
it was known that such would be the effect. 

Such as I have stated, was the dangerous connection 
of Miss McCauley with me at the time referred to. Since 
that time, in consequence of the efforts of my mother 
and sister, aided by others, her rapport has been greatly 
lessened. Since the removals of Mrs. S., Miss McCauley 
has been repeatedly removed while I was asleep, with- 
out causing anything more than a slight degree of faint- 
ness when I awoke, and which in a few minutes passed 
away. 

But I have insisted that all efforts tending to disturb 
my sleep shall cease. If my friends can remove the two 
females without causing me further annoyance at night, 
I shall, of course, be pleased to have it done. But I 
would not consent again to suffer such disturbances at 
night as I have passed through, if I could be sure that 
by so doing I would be relieved of the presence of the 
females. My former anxiety for the removal of Miss 
McCauley, and which occasioned the trip to England, 
was partly owing to the impression that she had power 
to produce these annoyances. This was stated as the 
fact by Mrs. S. ; and the truth appears to be that my 
friends, in order to induce me to bear them patiently, 
have partly concealed from me the facts. The disturb- 
ances, since the arrival of my mother and sister, have been 
owing almost wholly to their efforts to obtain control. 
As I have now learned that the connection of Miss Mc- 
Cauley is no longer of a dangerous nature, and that she 
is unable to disturb my sleep, provided my mother and 
sister cease their efforts, I have requested that this should 
be done ; for as I do not wish to serve as a medium for 



t 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE 137 

communications to others, T care but little how many 
devils remain near me so long as I am not in any way 
annoyed by them. As stated, previous to the com- 
mencement of the violent efforts of my mother and sister, 
I had almost forgotten the presence of invisible beings ; 
and I hope that soon after the completion of this work, 
such will again be the case. 

It will be perceived that the reason why I have 
suffered such annoyances, while other mediums have 
suffered none, is, that almost from the commencement 
of my experience there has been a contest for the con- 
trol; first, between Mrs. S. and Miss McCauley, and 
subsequently between my mother and sister on the one 
part, and the two former on the other, though these two 
have not acted in concei-t It is true that Mrs. S. did, 
for several nights, annoy me by her infantile attempts 
at choking; but this would notiiave occurred, probably, 
had she been an entire stranger ; and from the time the 
idea occuiTcd to her of having me act as a medium, she 
caused me no annoyance until my friends arrived and 
attempted to remove her. I state this in reply to the 
frequent assertions of Spiritualists that the " spirits " 
who communicate through mediums, and produce the 
physical phenomena, must be benevolent ones because 
they do no harm. These '' spirits " very closely resem- 
ble certain animals of our world ; they do no harm so 
long as they are not irritated. 

So far as has reference merely to the presence of in- 
visible beings with me, my situation does not differ, as 
I am informed, from that of thousands, or hundreds of 
thousands, who have no knowledge or suspicion of the 
fact And when I consider the strange desire of those 



138 MODERN DIABOLISM* 

of tlie other world to learn what is passing in ours — 
which desire can be gratified only by becoming en rap- 
port with one of us — also, that with every visitor to a 
medium who has received answers to questions not made 
known to the medium, one of the other world must have 
been to a certain extent en rapport^ I have no hesitation 
in believing the statement. 

Although I have stated only such facts in reference 
to the individuals of the other world who have com- 
municated with me as were necessary to make the nar- 
rative intelligible, some of my acquaintances, should 
they read this work, will know who two of the male 
persons designated by initials are ; and it is possible that 
it may at least be suspected who is designated by the 
title of Count. For this reason, I wish to avoid making 
the course taken by these individuals appear any worse 
than it really has been.. All that I have stated in refer- 
ence to them is, as I am now informed and believe, 
strictly accurate ; and no valid excuse is, or can be given 
for the deceptions practiced. But as my mother and 
sister have evinced such an unconquerable aversion to 
their propositions, and as I have stated that the objec- 
tions, especially of the latter, were of a religious nature, 
it may be inferred by some that these persons were 
engaged in some very unholy scheme ; and it is upon 
this point that I think it proper to state my opinion, 
based upon all the facts which. I can learn. 

First, then, as to the proposition of the Count, towards 
which — considered without reference to my serving as a 
medium — my mother, especially, evinced such a repug- 
nance. If it was proper to state the proposition, this 
matter could be made very clear. It was, as I have said, 



EXPLAKATORY NARRATIVE. 139 

in my judgment a visionary scheme ; but that is here of 
no consequence, as the Count believed it practicable. 
The aversion of my mother to the proposition would have 
Deen the same if she had still been in our world. It is 
a matter in reference to which her present position gives 
her no peculiar facilities for forming a correct judgment ; 
therefore her opinion is of no more value now than if 
she was still a resident of our world ; and it was a prop- 
osition of such a nature that in deciding upon it men 
would not, as a rule, take the advice of females. And, 
further, it was a proposition in reference to which the 
inclinations of different individuals would vary. I pre- 
sume that nine individuals out of every ten whose 
pecuniary circumstances were no better than my own, 
would gladly have accepted such a proposal. This, I 
think, is sufficient in reference to that matter. 

It is proper to state, however, that since the trip to 
England, the Count has remained with me and retained 
his rapport at the request of my male friends ; and that, 
having received in our world a university education, he 
has rendered some service in giving the theories pre- 
sented in this work. Nevertheless, I am confident that 
I have not at all misstated the character of the Count. 
In the spring of 1869, to induce me to go to England, 
he did tell the most egregious lies as to what great 
things he would accomplish for me ; lies which were 
utterly useless because I did not believe them, and also 
because a prospect of getting rid of the two females was 
sufficient inducement In short, the Count is unques- 
tionably an incorrigible liar. His idea, in reference to the 
trip to England was, that if I was first relieved of Miss Mc- 
Cauley, I would not accept his original proposition ; but 



140 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

that, in my depressed state of mind, if I found it was 
my only chance of getting rid of her^ I would accept it — 
which is about the truth. But, as I have said, mv 
mother and sister — very unreasonably on their part — 
refused to permit the proposition to be fairly submitted 
to me ; and their suspicions were so excited that the 
plan upon which I went over could not have been car- 
ried out. I still think that if the matter has been fully 
explained to me, this scheme, concun-ed in by my male 
friends, for inducing me to go to England under false 
pretences, was a childish one ; but it is probable that, 
under the circumstances, the retention of the Count en 
rapport with me was a judicious measure. 

Now, in reference to the plan for placing a medium 
under the charge of one or more of this party. To this 
scheme, although both my ruother and sister objected, 
the objections of the latter appear to have been the 
strongest ; and. it is a matter in reference to which her 
present position miglit enable her to judge more cor- 
rectly than I can. My sister believed, and still does, 
that great evil would be done in our world by the pro- 
mulgation of false doctrines through a medium placed 
under the control of such persons. It is possible that 
if communication was less dif&cult, so that my sister 
could state fully her views, and the views of others who 
agree with her upon this point, my opinion might be 
changed ; but my present opinion is that we can decide 
as accurately in this matter as those of the other world ; 
assuming that I have received and given a correct idea 
of the characters of these persons. 

Now, while I do not believe that much good would 
be done, I cannot perceive how any great amount Of 



EXPLANATORY NARRATIVE. 141 

evil could be wrought. The truth is, unless I am 
greatly mistaken, these individuals have no particular 
doctrines which they wish to promulgate ; their desire 
is, solely, for communication with our world. As the 
communications would be genuine, and not persona- 
tions, they would do some good by making known 
the deceptions practiced through other mediums ; and 
many of the female visitors to these mediums can poorly 
afford to pay the fees charged for delivering short and 
silly communications from personators of their deceased 
friends. 

In short, although I should have wanted a little more 
information before deciding, and do not now feel in- 
clined to have anything to do with such an undertak- 
ing, yet I think that if at the time the proposal was 
made I had understood this matter as I now do, I should 
have been willing to assist in placing Mr. B. en rapport 
with his daughter — provided, of course, that the latter, 
after learning all the facts, desired it — and let him choose 
his associates. But the scheme, so far as Mr. B. was 
concerned, was necessarily abandoned some time since, 
for the reason that his daughter was married ; and, ow- 
ing to the opposition of my mother and sister, no defi- 
nite arrangement of the kind was made with another 
person. It was thought that my aid would be more 
effectual if the indi-\ddual of the other world was a for- 
mer acquaintance than if he was one whom I had never 
seen. But the undertaking would have been an exper- 
iment ; and it is doubtful whether Mr. B., or any indi- 
vidual of his class, could become so intimately en rap- 
port with one of our world, through such a process, as 
to be able to communicate. 



142 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

I have thus stated my opinion of the schemes of these 
individuals ; there was, in my judgment, nothing either 
unholy or righteous, malevolent or benevolent, con- 
nected with them. But why they, and others of their 
world, are so extremely desirous of communication with 
ours, is a matter which I cannot yet fully understand. 
Of course, the explanation, so far as it goes, is, that our 
world is to them more attractive than their own. Fur- 
ther than this, I should be unable, with my limited in- 
formation respecting the other world, to throw much 
light upon the subject, and it is one somewhat foreign 
to the main object of this work. 



CHAPTER Y. 

MODEKN SPIRITUALISM. 

As this work is written under the impression that the 
writer is the first individual of our world who has been 
able to obtain any truth respecting the other, and as 
such has been stated to be the fact, I propose in this 
chapter to give extracts from the writings of modem 
" seers " and Spiritualists sufficient to show that there is 
no agreement whatever between their revelations and 
the communications I have received. I devote a chap- 
ter to this purpose because to most persons it will seem 
almost impossible that there should have existed for 
the last twenty years constant means for communica- 
tion between the other world and ours, and yet no truth 
have been received by the latter from the former. This 
fact can only be explained by the statement that those 
of the other world able to communicate through the 
mediums are not only all liars, but also excessively stu- 
pid ; so stupid that they lie when the truth would bet- 
ter serve their pui-pose, at least with intelligent people. 

The " seers " really see nothing which they pretend 
to describe, and I only copy from their writings because 
their revelations are believed by Spiritualists, and con- 
firmed through the mediums ; and because the theories 
of Spiritualists, so far as they have any, can thus be 



144 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

stated more conveniently than by copying disconnected 
communications given through mediums. I had in- 
tended to give extracts from the writings of Sweden- 
borg, but find that it would be impossible within the 
limits of a single chapter to give a correct idea of them. 
A correct understanding of them I could not give within 
any limits, for I am unable to understand them myself, 
or, more properly, I interpret them as being the writings 
of a learned lunatic. It will be sufficient to state that 
the theories of Spiritualists are based upon the writings 
of Swedenborg ; for the theories are formed by the Spir- 
itualists, and merely confirmed by the "spirits," so 
called. The latter will confirm any theory, no matter 
what, if it is only false. This I know from my own ex- 
perience. And the diversity of theories held by Spirit- 
ualists is, in a great measure, owing to this cause — 
namely, that the writings of Swedenborg are differently 
understood, consequently different beliefs are formed, 
and all these beliefs being entirely false, are all con- 
firmed by the so-called spirits. 

Of course the fact that the doctrines of all Spiritual- 
ists entirely differ from those I have received is not the 
slightest evidence that the former are erroneous. My 
only aim in giving these extracts is to show that there 
is a radical difference; that upon no single point is 
there any agreement ; and, especially, that in the funda- 
mental doctrines regarding the change in a human being 
called death, and the location or boundary of the world 
into which he then enters, the doctrines differ so greatly 
as to be utterly irreconcilable. 

Those who are familiar with the writings of Spirit- 
ualists may as well omit reading this chapter, for it ia 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 145 

tedious stuff. I confess that I have myself had patience 
to read only so far as seemed necessary for the purpose 
stated. 

I will first give extracts fi*om a lecture by Hon. J. "W. 
Edmonds, published under the title " What is Death ? " 

" So, too, in the case of a brother-in-law, who died af- 
ter a lingering illness, and of advanced age. I saw who 
attended his dying moments. I visited him frequently 
during his illness, and, at his request, I detailed to him 
what I had then learned as to the life after death. One 
night, when sleeping in my own home, I was awakened 
out of a sound sleep about inidnight, and saw his spirit 
standing by my bedsida He told me that he had been 
up there with his sister-in-law, who had been dead some 
months, and he had found it to be just as I had told 
him. I supposed he was then dead, but I found the 
next morning that he was not, that he had that morning 
revived from the unconsciousness that had been steal- 
ing over him, and told his wife that he had been in the 
spirit-world ; that he had there met some friends, whom 
he named ; that he had found it to be as I had told 
him ; that he knew where he was going ; that he was 
very happy, and wished her not to be distressed at his 
death, for it was all well with him." 

" As I understand it, man is a trinity, consisting — 1st, 
of the animal body, which is possessed of attributes 
which he shares in common with the whole animal cre- 
ation; 2d, of the soul, which has its intellect and its af- 
fections, proper to itself; and 3d, of what I may call, 
for want of a better phrase, his electrical body, which 
connects the soul with the animal body, and which at 
death leaves the body and passes into the spirit-world 



146 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

with the soul, and there constitutes its form or tenement. 
As the three united constitiite the mortal man on earth, 
so the soul and the electrical body together constitute 
the spirit in its existence bejond the grave." 

" The next consideration is, what happens immedi- 
ately after death ? The first thing, as I understand it, 
is the formation of the spirit-body .... The forma- 
tion of the spii-it-body has been beheld by me on two 
occasions, and once, if I recollect aright, it was described 
by Mr. Davis as having been seen by him. That was 
in the case of a man who was crushed by a falling bank 
of earth. "When we die, the mortal body decays — 
passes back to the dust from which it is said to come. 
But the other two parts of the trinity which T have 
mentioned — the electrical body and the soul — together 
pass into the other world. The spirit forms its body 
there. At the moment, or immediately after death, it 
passes out of the corpse in the shape of a pale smoke- 
like flame, and hovers directly over it. an unformed, 
unshapen cloud for awhile, but gradually assuming the 
human form. When the process is through, and the 
electrical body has thus passed from the mortal, and is 
hovering about it, it assumes the precise form of the 
corpse it leaves behind. And here you see two per- 
sons, the dead body of the person lying on the bed, 
and the electrical body hovering over it, and both in- 
animate. 

" I beheld in one instance the spirit-body forming di- 
rectly over the body of the man that lay dead, and 
when thus formed, I was struck with the marvelous re- 
semblance to the earthly form of the individual who 
had thus' died, represented in the cloud-body first 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 147 

formed. It lay there perfect in form, but there was no 
aAimation ; suddenly it started into new life. T under- 
stood then what it was — it was the soul entering that 
spirit-body that was its tenement for the other life, 

" The next step after the formation of the spirit-body 
is the awakening to consciousness in the spirit life. 
With some this is a long time coming ; with others it 
takes but a single instant, varying in different persons 
between these two extremes, and is produced partly by 
physical causes, but chiefly by our moral condition. 

" I can best illustrate the proposition by telling some 
incidents that have enabled me to come to something 
like a correct conclusion upon this subject; whether 
right or wrong judge you upon your own examination. 
I say, in some instances it is long before consciousness 
returns. Once, at a circle, I was visited by the spirit of 
a young girl — this was, I think, in the month of March 
— she was the grand-daughter of an English nobleman ; 
she had died in London when dancing at a party. 
When she awakened to consciousness she was with us. 
She thought she had been carried into the green-house, 
and that she was there when peaking to us. She heard 
our voices, and talked with us under that impression, 
and she was wonderfully surprised when we told her 
she was not in London, but in America. 

" She was surprised to find that we were not savages, 
as she had always thought the Americans were, and in 
the course of my inquiries I found she had never been 
awakened to consciousness from the moment that she 
fell and expired until that moment Then the inquiry 
was how long that unconsciousness had continued. She 
could not measure the time, but she remembered one of 



148 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

the feasts of the Church wliich occurred just before her 
death, and we knowijig when that was, were thus en- 
abled to know that she had been in this state of uncon- 
sciousness from the previous November until March. 
During these four months she had known nothing ; she 
supposed that she had merely fainted in the ball-room, 
and was then recovering her consciousness in the green- 
house immediately adjoining." 

" I had a friend who died here a few years ago, a 
most good-natured, honest, noble-hearted fellow, but 
rather indolent. He was brought on one occasion after 
his death to my house by some spirit friends who de- 
sired to rouse him from this state of semi-torpor in 
which he was involved. He had heard it all his life 
long preached about the last judgment day, so when he 
arrived there and began to awaken ^ he settled down into 
a state of di'camy composure and waited to hear the last 
trump. He determined he would not stir, and ought 
not to stir until the trump had sounded. He was 
brought to my house by those friends in order to see 
if they could fully awaken him ; and when told by those 
friends that he was then in my presence, he said it was 
all nonsense, and sank again into his half- unconscious 
condition, and refused to be disturbed." 

It must be assumed that the process is the same, 
whether the "spirit body" leaves the "mortal body" 
before or after death. The spirit of the brother-in-law 
of Judge Edmonds must then, according to the latter's 
theory, have passed through the following process: — 
First, the electrical body passed out of the mortal body, 
and hovered for a while over it, " an unformed, un- 
shapen cloud ; " gradually it assumed the human form ; 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 149 

but, since it liad no life of any kind, what caused this 
is not easily understood. Second, the soul passed from 
the mortal body, and entered the electrical body ; and 
yet, the man was not dead ! Third, the spirit must have 
procured clothing, for the spirits are never seen aaked 
by the seers ; this point the Judge has entirely over- 
looked. Fourth, after going " up there," and convers 
ing with the sister-in-law, and then visiting the Judge, 
the above process was reversed ; that is, the spirit re- 
turned to the mortal body, unclothed itself, the soul 
left it and entered the mortal body, the spirit body be- 
came an unformed, unshapen cloud, and then itself en- 
tered the mortal body ! 

I have copied two of the incidents given by Judge 
Edmonds as showing that in some cases a state of un- 
consciousness exists for a long time after death, mainly 
for the purpose of exhibiting the credulity of Spiritual- 
ists. It may be thought by some that if all those of 
the other world able to communicate through mediums 
were as stupid as I have intimated, they could not have 
deceived so many persons apparently cautious upon 
other subjects. Now, Judge Edmonds is a lawyer ac- 
customed to the cross-examination of witnesses; and 
yet, when communications from the other world are re- 
ceived by him, he manifests almost childish credulity. 
If any one of our world told him that the grand-daugh- 
ter of an English nobleman thought Americans were 
all savages, he would consider the individual a very 
ignorant person. Again, if this spirit was not only un- 
conscious, but unable to see where it was, how could 
it find its way from London to Judge Edmonds ? The 
success of the " spiiits " in deceiving people of our world 



150 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

is owing to the fact that the latter do not criticise these 
communications as they do those of onr world. The 
anecdote of the rather indolent frieud of the Judge is, 
if possible, more absurd than that of the grand-daughter 
of an English nobleman. 

I will next give a few extracts from a lecture by 
Andrew Jackson Davis upon "Death and the After- 
Life : " 

"Man is a triple organization. This fact is estab- 
lished in two ways — (1) by the concurrent observations 
of all seers, sensitives and mediums, and (2) by the phe- 
nomenal developments of individual men and women. 
Man's external body is a casing composed of the aggre- 
gate refinements of the grossest substances. We will 
name the physical body iron, merely to give it a just 
classification and position, in relation to mind and spirit. 
Next, we find that there is an intermediate organiza- 
tion — which Paul called the spiritual body — composed 
of still finer substances, the ultimation of the coarser 
elements which make up the corporeal or iron organi- 
zation. The combination of the finer substances com- 
posing the intermediate or spiritual body, being so white 
and shining, may be called the silver organization. The 
inmost, or inside of this silvery body (which interior 
Paul definitely said nothing about), is the immortal 
golden image." 

" We call the inmost spirit — signifying the finest, the 
super-essential portion of man's nature, composed of all 
impersonal principles, which flow from, the Deific cen- 
tre of this glorious universe, taking a permanent resi- 
dence within the spiritual body, which they fill and 
exalt, just as the elements of the spiritual body live 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 



151 



within this corporeal or iron organization, which is com- 
posed of mineral, vegetable, and animal atoms and vital- 
ities. 

" And now, having disposed of these general consid- 
erations, I will tell you what / have seen. I will not 
give descriptions of phenomena from my supposition or 
imagination. I suppose that I need not repeat that I 
have had the periscopic and clairvoyant ability to see 
through man's iron coating for the past fifteen years ; 
neither need I again remark that, within the last twelve 
years, the result of the exercise of this faculty has come 
to be' to me an education. I have stood by the side of 
many death-beds; but a description of manifestations in 
one case will suffice for the whola" 

I omit his description of the passage of the spiritual 
body from the " corporeal " one, as it does not essen- 
tially differ from that of Judge Edmonds. 

" The fine life-thread continues attached to the old 
brain. The next thing is the withdrawal of the elec- 
tric principle. When this thread snaps the spiritual 
body is free ! and prepared to accompany its guardians 
to the Summer-Land." 

"The clairvoyant sees the newly-arisen spiritual body 
move off toward a thread of magnetic light which has 
penetrated the room. There is a golden shaft of celes- 
tial light touching this spiritual body near its head. 
That delicate chain of love-light is sent from above as 
a guiding power. The spiritual being is asleep, like a 
ju3t-born happy babe ; the eyes are closed, and there 
seems to be no consciousness of existence. It is an un- 
conscious slumber. In many cases this sleep is long ; 
in others not at all The love-thread now di-aws the 



152 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

new-born baby to the outside door. A tbougbt-sliaft 
descends upon some one who is busy about the body. 
This person is all at once "impressed " to open the door 
of the dwelling, and to leave it open for a few moments, 
or some other door of egress is opened ; and the spirit- 
ual body is silently removed from the house. The 
thread of celestial attraction gathers about, and draws 
it obliquely through the forty -five miles of air." 

" At the battle of Fort Donelson I saw a soldier in- 
stantly killed by a cannon-ball. One arm was thrown 
over the high trees ; a part of his brain went a gi'eat 
distance ; other fragments were scattered about in the 
open field ; his limbs and fingera flew among the dead 
and dying. Now, what of this man's spiritual body ? I 
have seen similar things many times — not deaths by 
cannon-balls, but analogous deaths by sudden accidents 
or explosions. Of this person whose body was so utterly 
annihilated at Fort Donelson, I saw that all the particles 
streamed up and met together in the air. The atmos- 
phere was filled with these golden particles — emana- 
tions from the dead — over the whole battle-field. About 
three-quarters of a mile above the smoke of the battle- 
field, above all the ' clouds that lowered ' upon the hills 
and forests of black discord, there was visible a beauti- 
ful accumulation from the fingers and toes, and heart, 
and brain,' of that suddenly killed soldier. There stood 
the new spiritual body three-quarters of mile above all 
the discord and din and havoc of the furious battle I 
And the bodies of many others were coming up from 
other directions at the same time ; so that fi-om half a 
mile to three and five miles in the clear, tranquil air, I 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 153 

could see spiritual organisms forming and departing 
tlience in all directions. 

"Individuality usually returns, in cases of sudden 
death, after a few days in the homes of the Summer- 
Land. They are usually guided to some Brotherhood, 
to some Hospital, or to some open-anned Pavilion, and 
there they are watched and tenderly cared for, as are all 
who arrive from lower worlds. When the time ap- 
proaches for the spirit's awakening, then celestial music, 
or some gentle manipulation, or the murmuring melody 
of distant streams, or something like breathing passes 
made over the sleeping one, causes ' sensation ' to re- 
turn, and thus the new comer is introduced to the Sum- 
mer-Land." -- 

Judge Edmonds professes to believe Davis to be a 
seer, and I suppose the latter believes the former to be 
one ; but there is not much coherence in their state- 
ments. The spirit of J udge Edmonds's brother-in-law 
went " up there " — which I suppose means the Summer- 
Land — without the " life-thread " being snapped, or the 
door being opened. If it is necessary that some one of 
our world release the spirit before it can go to the Sum- 
mer-Land, thousands of spirits must have had a tedious 
time of waiting for this to be done. I presume 
that Judge Edmonds really believes that he sees what 
he professes to describe ; but it is quite certain that 
Davis does not. Davis knew nothing about the battle 
of Fort Donelson until he read the account in the news- 
papers ; and therefore he could not even have imagined 
that he saw what he pretends to describe. 

I cannot get from these lectures of Davis and Judge 
Edmonds any definite idea of the " Summer-Land." The 



1^4 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

volume containing the above lecture by Davis contains 
also one by him on "Scenes in the Summer-Land," but 
the boundary is not defined. The following is the near- 
est approach to a definite description given in the 
lecture : 

" The spiritual world is made from life-points sent out 

from the chemical coalitions of the planets 

The Summer-Land is the comprehensive sphere. As- 
tronomically speaking, the earth is on one side of that 
vast galaxy of suns and planets termed the 'milky way,' 
and directly across this great physical belt of stars we 
find the sublime repose of the Summer-Land ; and this 
is but the receptacle of the immortal inhabitants who 
ascend from the different planets that belong to our 
solar system. These planets all have celestial rivers 
which lead from them toward the heavenly shores. As 
each organ in the human body holds its physical rela- 
tion to the brain bj means of nerves and blood'-rivers, 
so these different planets in the physical universe hold 
a currental, magnetic, and electrical relation to the Sum- 
mer-Land, which corresponds to the brain." 

Judge Edmonds, also, evidently believes that the 
Summer-Land is the abode of spirits from other planets, 
as well as from the earth. In his lecture he says that 
his wife, when she died, was met " by spirits from other 
planets, with whom she passed away from earth." 

In a work by Robert Hare, late Professor of Chemistry 
in the University of Pennsylvania, entitled " Experi- 
mental Investigations of Spirit Manifestations," I find a 
more definite description of the spirit world. The fol- 
lowing, Prof. Hare states to be a communication received 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 155 

by him from his father, in the spirit world,' through Mr& 
Gourley, a writing-medium: 

'' The spiiit world lies between sixty and one hundred 
and twenty miles from the terrestrial surface ; the whole 
intermediate spac^ including that immediately over the 
earth, the habitation of mortals, is divided into seven 
concentric regions called spheres. The region next the 
earth, the primary scene of man's existence, is known as 
the first or rudimental sphera The remaining six may 
be distinguished as the spiritual spheres. The six spir- 
itual spheres are concentric zones, or circles of exceed- 
ingly refined matter, encompassiug the earth like belts 
or girdlea The distance of each, fi'om the other is 
regulated by fixed laws." 

If I understand this, the nearest zone, or belt — called 
a sphere — is sixty miles distant from the surface of the 
earth, and the farthest, one hundred and twenty miles. 
This differs a little from the statement of Davis that the 
Summer-Land stretches across the milky -way ; but 
Spiritualists are not at all staggered- by trifling differences 
like this. The seventh sphere, according to Prof Hare, 
is the highest region attained by any one from our planet ; 
but beyond this are the "Supernal Heavens," inhabited 
by spirits from other planets, who, from some unex- 
plained cause, are superior to those from the earth. 

"Having spoken of the angels of the 'Supernal 
Heavens,' I will explain what is meant by this designa- 
tion. They are those pure and comparatively exalted 
beings who, having advanced beyond the highest sphere 
of the planet to which they belonged, and attained a 
very high state of moral and intellectual development, 
have been admitted into that great and illimitable sphere 



156 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

of progression wliich lies outside of all other spheres, 
and in whicli the greatest conceivable degree of harmony 
reigns. It is composed of one grand harmonial society, 
whose members are privileged to go wheresoever they 
will through the boundless empire of ..space. They are 
principally from the planets Jupiter and Saturn, and 
hold a much more distinguished rank in the intellectual, 
moral, and social system than the inhabitants of earth. 
I have not learned that any spirit from our planet has 
yet reached the Supernal Heaven." 

The belief that the spirit, or spiritual body, can leave 
temporarily the physical body, is generally, if not uni- 
versally, held by Spiritualists, I have already given 
Judge Edmonds' views upon this point, I am informed 
by acquaintances of the Judge that^ according to his 
statement, his own spirit frequently leaves his physical 
body, and visits the spirit world ; and the spirit of his 
daughter is represented as doing the same, Mr, B. Cole- 
man, a prominent English Spiritualist, has written a 
book entitled " Spiritualism in America," in which, after 
speaking of the case of Miss Edmonds, he says that he 
is acquainted with a lady whose spirit one night left her 
body, visited a friend, awoke him by a box on the ear, 
and repeated to him a verse of Keats, 

The principal organ of the Spiritualists in the United 
States is a newspaper published in Boston, Mass., called 
the Banner of Light. This paper has attached to it a 
medium, a Mrs. Conant ; and nearly a page of the paper 
has, for a number of years, been filled with communi- 
cations purporting to be received from the spirit world 
through her. The following is part of an editorial article 
referring to Mrs, Cong,nt, taken from this paper : 



MODEKN SPIRITUALISM. 157 

" TVTien slie is sick a constant spirit friend of hers 
takes possession of her organism and holds control for a 
time, in order to relieve the tired spirit that owns the 
tabernacle of clay. This fact is patent to us and others 
who have personally known the medium for years. It 
is a scientiiic fact. There is no illusion about it ; no 
psychological hypothesis to be considered. Her spirit 
roams at will through space, while another spirit has 
charge of the body. She is sometimes absent for hours. 
Lately she visited a circle in Dresden, and wrote through 
the hand of the medium there these words : — ' America 
greets Germany. Mrs. J. BL Conant, of the Banner of 
LighV Subsequently the spirit of the German medium 
paid his compliments to us, through the body of Mrs. 
Conant. He said that as the little medium he was then 
controlling had manifested through his organism in 
Germany, he could do no less than return the compli- 
ment, and added, ' Germany greets America.' " 

But it appears that the spirit of Mrs. Conant is some- 
times obliged unwillingly to leave her body. In one 
communication, the spirit making it states that it ob- 
tained control by suiTounding her with an atmosphere 
not in harmony with her spirit, which, therefore, left 
her body, thus giving the spirit then communicating an 
opportunity to enter and take possession. And this 
spirit, in reply to a question upon that point, stated that 
it could, if it chose, retain possession of her body, to the 
exclusion of the original spirit ; adding, that there was 
danger of evil spirits performing such operations. An- 
other communication states that a spirit can enter a 
dead borly, and cause it to rise, walk, and speak. 

I will next give the most explicit explanations I have 



158 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

been able to find of rapping and table-moving ; of otter 
phenomena I have been unable to find any explanations 
whatever. The following, purporting to be explana- 
tions by the spirits, is from Prof! Hare's work : 

" The raps are produced by voluntary discharges of 
the vitalized spiritual electricity from the spirit, coming 
in contact with the animal electricity emanating from 
the medium. These discharges we can direct at will 
to any particular locality, thereby producing sounds or 
concussions. 

" The question being often asked, ' How do you move 
solid substances f ' I would partly answer it by asking. 
How does a magnet attract and raise from their resting 
places certain bodies within whose sphere it is brought ? 
How does a man move his body and direct it whither- 
soever it goeth ? How does God, the Almighty cause 
of all causes, move and keep in perpetual motion the 
immense systems which revolve in space, and maintain 
each in its due relative position ? I answer, By the 
magnetism of a positive will. 

" We, in common, with you and all animals, possess 
an infinitesimal portion of this power, varying in degree 
in different classes and in different individuals. When 
you raise your arm, as in the act of lifting or moving a 
body, you direct, by the force of your will-power, gal- 
vanic currents on the muscles required to perform the 
function. The muscles acting as levers, through the 
stimulus of the subtile element, act and react on the 
more solid parts, the bones, and thus is the object laid 
hold of and moved, and still you do not come into direct 
contact with the object. Now, this is called a very sim- 
ple operation, and so it would appear, but who under- 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 159 

stands it ? Although advanced spirits are much more 
conversant with the forces operating in nature than the 
most intellectually developed man in the form, still they 
do not, nor can they ever, as long as eternity rolls on, 
understand the hidden sphere of cause. The operation 
of the will it is impossible to understand. Now, as I 
have said, we are not possessed of physical bodies ; still 
we can make the imponderable elements subserve our 
purpose by acting as bones, nerves, and muscles." 

If the spirit had simply explained the last sentence, 
and stated how the imponderable elements were made 
to act as " bones, nerves, and muscles," there would be 
some sense in the extract ; as it is, I can perceive none. 
The " spirits " are not asked to explain " the hidden 
sphere of cause," nor " the operation of the will ; " but 
simply to state how they use the imponderable ele- 
ments, if they are used, in moving a table ; just as, for 
example, one familiar with the electric telegraph, where 
an imponderable element is used, would explain its 
operations. However, the " spirits " probably had little, 
if any, agency in this communication ; it was the prod- 
uct of the medium's own brain. These impressible and 
writing mediums sometimes give communications from 
the other world ; but as frequently — especially when 
they are lengthy — the communications are their own 
productions. I copy this as being, apparently, the most 
explicit explanation of table-moving the Professor 
was able to obtain. He does not, himself, appear to 
think it very clear, since it does not account for the ne- 
cessity of the presence of a medium. He says : 

" The only explanation of which I can conceive is, 
that spirits, by volition, can deprive bodies of vis ineT' 



f 



160 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

ticB, and move bodies, as they do tliemselves, by tbeir 
will But the necessity of the presence of a medium 
to the display of this power, granting its existence, is a 
mystery." 

Not much common sense is to be looked for in a man 
who — in common with many Spiritualists — is prepared 
to believe that spirits can move a table, as they do them- 
selves, by volition ; still, it does appear very strange 
that the Professor should not have known the spirits 
could explain this "mystery" if they were disposed to 
do so. 

In another work by Davis, I find what purport to be 
explanations of table-moving and rapping. Table- 
moving is illustrated by an engraving representing a 
group of spirits above the clouds, and over the dwelling 
in which a circle is seated around a table. A line is 
drawn from the group of spirits to the table, represent- 
ing a " thread of magnetism" proceeding from the for- 
mer to the latter. 

" There is always a supermundane circle correspond- 
ing to the structure and conditions of the circle on earth. 
And each guardian mind of the spiritual group contrib- 
utes its proportion of magnetic emanation, to form a 
line of communication, just as each person in the terres- 
trial group lends his or her mental and physical influ- 
ence to mediurrdze the table. Thus there is an earthly 
terminus and there is a spiritual terminus to the^iwe 
thread of magnetism, which perforating and passing 
through all intervening substances, accomplishes the 
wonders herein described. 

" The above engraving is designed expressly to illus- 
trate the process of table-moving, as accomplished on 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 161 

principles already explained. Elevated above the cloud- 
region is seen the spirit-circle in telegraphic correspond- 
ence with the mundane party in the lowei' story of the 
dwelling. The influence from the upper circle is seen 
passing down through the roof and floors to the surface 
of the table, where it imperceptibly radiates and emits 
invisible rays in every direction, and fills the substance 
of the table as water saturates a sponge. This is a true 
copy from natmu The descending line, it may be re- 
marked, proceeds in an oblique direction, in order to 
exert a leverage influence on the substance to be moved. 
But when the ' sounds ' are desired to be produced, this 
line descends almost perpendicularly, as will be here- 
after shown. The diameter of this magnetic current, 
which is fine and very strong, as I have frequently seen, 
varies in size from that of a knitting-needle to a child's 
little finger." 

Evidently, Prof Hare's informants knew nothing about 
this sort of an arrangement. And I can perceive no 
necessity for it if, as Davis states, the spirits cannot enter 
or leave a room while the openings are closed. If that 
was the fact, they could move a table precisely as we 
do. 

The mode of producing the " raps " was shown to 
Davis by a boy, who visited him in company with an 
Italian gentleman. These visitors from the spirit world, 
by the way, were unable to enter Davis' room until he 
opened the door. Davis requested the boy to show him 
how the raps were produced : 

"Immediately he drew near the table, and raised 
himself about two feet above its level. Still the gentle- 
man held bis left hand. His right hand being at liberty, 



1 



162 MODERN" DIABOLISM. 



he moved it rapidly in several directions for a few 
minutes ; then brought it in a calm, firm manner, at a 
right angle wlith the surface of the table. The beautiful 
spontaneous grace accompanying these gestures made 
the exhibition exceedingly entertaining. His hand had 
not been in this posture more than three minutes, re- 
maining fixed as by the strongest effort of Will, when I 
saw a cui'rent of amber softness pass down from the 7niddle 
finger to the table, on which slight concussions loere instantly 
produced. This phenomenon was very beautiful. But I 
saw how difficult it was to make them loud, or rapidly, 
as he and'I desired. The concussions were caused by 
the fine current, proceeding from the hand of the spirit, 
directed by the will-power, coming in sudden contact 
with the electricity which reposed, like latent heat, in the 
interstices of the hoard — in the spaces between the particles 
composing the top and standard of the table." 

Without entering into any further criticism upon it, I 
will merely state, that if I have received correct informa- 
tion, beyond the fact that these phenomena are produced 
by beings of another world, once inhabitants of ours, 
there is no truth, nor even an approximation to the 
truth, in all that I have copied into this chapter. There 
is no spiritual body in man, and therefore none to leave 
the physical body, either before or at the death of the 
latter ; and man is no more a spirit after the death of 
the present body than before. The inhabitants of the 
other world — those producing these phenomena — have 
no more power to leave this globe than we have ; and 
they know no more about the inhabitants of other 
planets, if there are such than we do. The explana- 



MODERN SPIRITUALISM. 163 

tions of table-moving and rapping are equally far fi'om 
the truth. 

It is asserted bv some Spiritualists that the writings 
of Mr. Davis contain matter of a scientific and philoso- 
phical nature, which an uneducated man like him would 
be incompetent to write if it were not dictated by an 
intelligence higher than his own. I have read very little 
of his writings ; but the following theory of the tides, 
taken from " Nature's Divine Revelations," which is, I 
believe, called one of his greatest works, will give an 
idea both of his science and logic : 

" The theories that have been presented to the world 
concerning the phenomenon of tides, have generally been 
very incorrect. It has been supposed by a conspicuous 
astronomer that tides were produced by the law of at- 
traction — ^by the action of the moon upon the earth. 
This cannot be true, for attraction is not an established 
principle, especially beyond the atmosphere of any body 
or substance. To show plainly the impossibility of this 
being the cause of tides, I will present some of the chief 
considerations which have an important bearing upon 
the subject. 

" If the moon has any attractive influence upon the 
earth (more than what consists in the natural relation 
existing between the two bodies), whj', when the moon 
is in conjunction with the sun, does not the water be- 
come more elevated on the side of the earth next to these 
bodies, as might naturally be expected if such attraction 
existed ? Also, substances upon that side of the earth 
would not then weigh near so much as when the moon 
was otherwise situated. Also, when the moon is on the 
opposite side of the earth, and the earth sustains a posi- 



164 MODERN DIABOLISM 

tion between it and the sun, why is not the elevation of 
the water equal at all positions of the earth? For if the 
sun and moon exert an equal influence, the I'esult should 
be equal heights of water all over the earth. 

" It is a well-ascertained ti'uth in astronomy, and in 
the principles of mechanics, that a body rotating like the 
earth on its axis, has the tendency to throw off substances 
in the direction in which it revolves. As the earth re- 
volves from west to east, and at the present time once 
in twenty -four hours, it must of necessity produce two 
elevations of water, especially as the water surrounds 
the whole globe. Every twelve hours the water would 
be elevated at the extreme east and extreme west, or, in 
other words, at given antipodes of the earth. The eleva- 
tion of water once in twelve hours is a result of the 
centrifugal tendency that the globe creates in one-half 
of its period of rotation — corresponding tides being thus 
produced on the opposite sides of the earth." 

This work, Davis says, was wiitten while he was in 
a "superior state." Now, let the philosophers either 
prove that the moon has an attractive influence upon 
the earth, "more than what consists in the natural rela- 
tion existing between the two bodies," or accept this 
centrifugal theory. Seriously, the fact that individuals 
can be found who will cite the writings of Andrew 
Jackson Davis as evidence that he must be inspired by 
an intelligence higher than his own, sufS.ciently explains 
the spread of Modern Spiritualism. 



CHAPTER YL 

ON THE WAVE THEORY OF SOUND AND A NEW THEORY 
OF SAME. 

I HAVE before me a series of lectures on Sound 
by Prof. J. Tyndall;* and from the position occupied 
by the lecturer, as well as from the fact, stated in his 
preface, that the proof-sheets have been examined by his 
friends, I feel warranted in concluding that the theory 
of sound now generally held by scientific men is by 
the Professor correctly stated. In my examination of 
the theory, I will, therefore, confine myself to a brief 
review of this work. 

From the following it will be perceived that Pro£ 
Tyndall thinks all our sensations are to be accounted 
for upon the theory of motion : 

" We have the strongest reasons for believing that 
what the nerves convey to the brain is in all cases mo- 
tion. It is the motion excited by sugar in the nerves 
of taste which, transmitted to the brain, produces the 
sensation of sweetness, while bitterness is the result of 
the motion produced by aloes. It is the motion ex- 
cited in the olfactory nerves by the efl&uvium of a rose, 

* " Sound. A course of eight lectures delivered at the Koyal In- 
stitution of Great Britain by John Tyndall, LL.D., F.E.S., Profes- 
sor of Natural Philosophy in the Royal Institution and in the Koyal 
School of Mines. London : Longmans, Green & Co., 1867." 



^Q6! MODERN DIABOLISM. 

whicli annoTinses itself in the brain as the odor of the 
rose. It is the motion imparted by the sunbeams to 
the optic nerve which, when it reaches the brain, awakes 
the consciousness of light ; while a similar motion im- 
parted to other nerves resolves itself into heat in the 
same wonderful organ." Pp. 1, 2. 

The following is given as an imperfect illustration of 
the mode in which sound is conveyed through the air : 

" The process may be rudely represented by the 
propagation of motion through a row of glass balls, such 
as are employed in the game of solitaire. I place these 
balls along a groove thus,* each of them touching its 
neighbors. Taking one of them in my hand, I urge it 
against the end of the row. The motion thus imparted 
to the first ball is delivered up to the second, the motion 
of the second is delivered up to the third, the motion 
of the third is imparted to the fourth ; each ball, after 
having given up its motion, returning itself to rest. 
The last ball only of the row flies away. Thus is sound 
conveyed from particle to particle through the air. The 
particles which fill the cavity of the ear are finally 
driven against the tympanic membrane^ which is 
stretched across the passage leading to the brain. 
This membrane, which closes the " drum " of the ear, 
is thrown into vibration, its motion is transmitted to 
the ends of the auditory nerve, and afterward along the 
nerve to the brain, where the vibrations are translated 
into sound." Pp. 3, 4. 

If this experiment with the glass balls was a correct 
illustration of the theory, I should have nothing to say 

* The work is illustrated by engravings, which I have not thought 
it necessary to copy. 



WAVE THEORY OF SOUND. 167 

against this portion of it; that is, the mode in which it 
supposes sound to be conveyed through the air. But 
the truth is, it is no illustration at all of the wave theory. 
This theory assumes that the particles of matter are 
separated by an " elastic force," which Prof. Tyndall 
compares to a " spiral spring ; " and sound is supposed 
to be conveyed by condensations and rarefactions of the 
conducting medium. 

" You ought, in short, to be able to seize the concep- 
tion that a sonorous wave consists of two portions, in 
the one of which the air is more dense, and in the other 
of which it is less dense than usual. A condensation 
and a rarefaction, then, are the two constituents of a 
wave of sound." P. 5. 

If the reader will suppose the glass balls to be sepa- 
rated by spiral springs, and a series of condensations 
and rarefactions to be.propagated through the string, he 
will have a correct idea of what is meant by sound- 
waves. The waves generated by a man's organs of 
speech in common conversation are said to be from 
eight to twelve feet, those of a woman from two. to four 
feet in length. That such waves are propagated, the 
Professor undertakes to demonstrate by the following 
experiment :— Placing a tin tube, fifteen feet in length 
and terminating at one end in a small opening, in a 
horizontal position, with the small opening near a lighted 
candle, he places a piece of burning paper in the other 
end, then, by clapping two books together close to the 
latter extinguishes the candle, and, because no smoke 
from the burning paper is ejected from the end next the 
candle, he claims that the candle is extinguished by a 
Bound- wave, and not by a puff of air. 



168 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

" To sliow you that it is a pulse and not a puff of air, 
I fill one end of the tube with the smoke of brown paper. 
On clapping the books together no trace of this smoke 
is ejected from the other end. The pulse has passed 
through both smoke and air without carrying either of 
them along with it." P. 12. 

This is inexcusably silly. The books, when clapped 
together as represented in the engraving, forced a quan- 
tity of air into the large opening of the tube ; this air 
forced an equal quantity out of the end next the can- 
dle ; and it requires but a small quantity of air, when 
forced out of a small opening near a lighted candle, to 
extinguish the flame. No smoke would be ejected 
from the opening next the candle — provided the experi- 
ment was made immediately upon the burning paper 
being placed in the other end — until nearly the whole 
fifteen feet of air was expelled. I find by repeating the 
experiment (except that I place my mouth at one end 
instead of the books) with a tube only about one-fourth 
the IcDgth of the Professor's, rudely formed from a piece 
of paper I happen to have in my room, that I can by a 
" puff" blow out the gas — ^partially turned down — 
without forcing any smoke out of the end of the tube 
next it 

T repeat, such nonsense in what purports to be a 
scientific lecture is inexcusable ; because, as the trial 
would have been so very easy, the Professor, before 
claiming that such an experiment demonstrated the 
truth of his theory, should have ascertained whether a 
"puff" would not extinguish the candle without forcing 
smoke through the tube ; though, really, it seems to me 
that an "LL. D., F. E. S.," and "Professor of Natural 



WAVE THEORY OF SOUND. 169 

Philosophy in the Eoyal Institution and in the Eojal 
School of Mines," should be able to understand so sim- 
ple a phenomenon without any trial. The following 
was, according to the Professor, a tremendous sound- 
wave: 

" The most striking example of this inflection of a 
sonorous wave that I have ever seen, was exhibited at 
Erith after the tremendous explosion of a powder mag- 
azine which occurred there in 1864. The village of 
Erith was some miles distant from the magazine, but in 
nearly all cases the windows were shattered ; and it was 
noticeable that the windows turned away from the ori- 
gin of the explosion suffered almost as much as those 
which faced it Lead sashes were employed in Erith 
church, and these being in some degree flexible, enabled 
the windows to yield to pressure without much fracture 
of the glass. Every window in the church, front and 
back, was bent inivards. In fact, as the sound-wave 
reached the church it separated right and left, and, for 
a moment, the edifice was clasped by a girdle of in- 
tensely compressed air, which forced all its windows in- 
wards. After compression, the air within the church no 
doubt dilated, and tended to restore the windows to their 
first condition. The bending in of the windows, how- 
ever, produced but a small condensation of the whole 
ma-ss of air within the church ; the force of recoil was 
therefore feeble in comparison with the force of impact, 
and insufficient to undo what the latter had accom- 
plished." P. 23. 

The theory assumes that the condensation would be 
succeeded by an equal degree of rarefaction ; and if 
such had been the fact, the windows would have been 



170 MODERN" DIABOLISM. 

forced, not merelj back to their original position, but 
outward. But I copy the paragraph mainly for the 
purpose of letting the reader fally understand what, in 
the opinion of Prof Tyndall, constitutes a sound-wave. 

The Professor's definition of pitchy namely, that it de- 
pends upon the rapidity, or rate of vibration of the 
sounding body, is, I presume, correct ; but his explana- 
tion of the difference in the quality of sound appears to 
me less satisfactory. It is comprised in the following 
paragraph : 

"Finally, with regard to the vibrations of a wire, the 
experiments of Dr. Yonng, who was the first to employ 
optical methods in such experiments, must be mentioned. 
He allowed a sheet of sunlight to cross a pianoforte 
wire, and obtained thus a brilliant dot. Striking the 
wire, he caused it to vibrate, the dot described a lumin- 
ous line like that produced by the whirling of a burn- 
ing coal in the air, and the form of this line revealed 
the character of the vibration. It was rendered man- 
ifest by these experiments that the oscillations of the 
wire were not confined to a single plane, but that it de- 
scribed in its vibrations curves of greater or less com- 
plexity. Superposed upon the vibration of the whole 
string were partial vibrations, which revealed them- 
selves as loops and sinuosities The form of the 

sonorous wave is affected by these superposed vibra- 
tions, and thus they influence the clang-tint or quality 
of the sound." Pp. 123, 124. 

This is excessively absurd. What possible effect 
can the /brm of the wave have upon the quality of the 
sound ? Besides, that infinitesimal portion of the wave 
which enters the small and irregular opening called the 



WAVE THEORY OF SOUND. 171 

outer ear, must always be of the form of this opening , 
in other words, always of the same form. 

Without occupying more space with Prof. Tyndall's 
explanations of any particular phenomenon, I will state 
my objection to the whole theory. I hold it to be im- 
possible that sound is propagated by a series of conden- 
sations and rarefactions, such as the theory supposes, 
for the reason that all sounds, however much they may 
vary in intensity, travel with the same velocity ; at 
least, there is no appreciable diiference in the velocity. 
Prof Tyndall says nothing about this, but it is a known 
fact, ascertained by experiment ; and is stated in most 
works on the subject. It is also a fact which cannot 
be reconciled to this theory that the velocity of sound 
does not diminish as the distance from the sounding 
body increases ; it continues the same to any distance 
at which it is perceptible. To make my objection un- 
derstood, I will copy further from Prof Tyndall's lec- 
tui'es : 

" The wave-length is found by dividing the velocity 
of sound per second by the number of vibrations exe- 
cuted by the sounding body in a second. Thus a tah- 
ing-fork which vibrates 256 times in a second produces 
in air of 15^^ C, where the velocity is 1.120 feet a sec- 
ond, waves four feet four inches long. While two other 
forks vibrating respectively 320 and 384 times a second, 
generate waves three feet six inches and two feet eleven 
inches long." P. 84. 

It will be perceived that the theory assumes the 
waves to be, at any distance, of the same length as at 
the starting point. This, in fact, appears to be a neces- 
sary assumption, since the sound continues to travel 



172 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

with the same velocity. It is also a necessary assump- 
tioTi from the latter fact, that the waves are propagated 
with the same rapidity as at the start ; that is. that the 
same number are formed in a given time. In one place 
Prof. Tyndall calls the condensations and rarefactions 
pulses^ and this is a more correct definition than the 
word waves. Now, if the pulses continue, at any dis- 
tance fi-om the sounding body, to be propagated of the 
same length, and with the same rapidity as at the start- 
ing point, the loudness, or intensity of the sound must 
continue the same. This can need no argument, for the 
pulses would continue precisely the same in every re- 
spect. But the fact is, that the intensity of sound 
diminishes as the distance increases. Prof. Tyndall 
states the law as being that, the intensity of the sound 
varies inversely as the square of the distance. It is im- 
possible to reconcile the theory, on this point, with the 
facts. 

Again : It will also be perceived from the last quota- 
tion that the theory accounts for the fact that sounds of 
different intensity travel with the same velocity, by 
assuming that the frequency of the pulses, or the num- 
ber formed in a second, varies accordingly. Thus Tyn- 
dall, having ascertained the distance which sound travels 
in a second, and the number of vibrations which differ- 
ent tuning-forks execute in the same time, divides the 
former by the latter ; thus showing that if the amplitude, 
or length of the waves — which, according to this theory, 
deteiTnines the intensity of the sound — created by one 
fork is greater than that of those created by another, 
the number of waves created by the latter in a given 
time is proportionally greater; and, therefore, the 



WAVE THEORY OF SOUND, 173 

rapidity -with which the sound is propagated is in each 
case the same. The ftillacy of this mode of reasoning 
will be perceived by observing the vibrations of a single 
fork. 

" When I first excite the tuning-fork the sound issues 
from it with maximum loudness, becoming gradually 
feebler as the fork continues to vibrate. I, being close 
to the fork, can notice at the same time that the ampli- 
tude or space through which the prongs oscillate becomes 
less and less. But within the limits here employed the 
most expert ear in this assembly can detect no change 
in the pitch of the note. The lowering of the intensity 
of a note does not, therefore, imply a lowering of its 
pitch. In fact, though the amplitude changes, the rate 
of vibration remains the same." Pp. 58, 59. 

In this case, then, the rate of vibration does not in- 
crease as the amplitude diminishes. Now, when the 
amplitude of vibration has become reduced to one-half 
its maximum, the pulses have become reduced one-half 
in length ; and as the pulses continue to be propagated 
at the same rate — the same number per second — as when 
their length was at its maximum, the rate at which the 
sound travels must be reduced to one-half its maximum. 
But the fact is, that so long as the sound continues to 
be audible it travels with the same velocity as when the 
fork commenced its vibrations. It is utterly impossible 
to reconcile this theory with the fact that all sounds 
travel with the same velocity. 

As to the mode in which the motion is transmitted 
from the tympanic membrane to the brain. Prof Tyn- 
dall speaks less positively than in reference to other 
parts of the theory. The following are, he says, the 



174 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

views now entertained by the most eminent authorities 
upon this point : 

" In the organ of hearing in man we have first of all 
the external orifice of the ear, which is closed at the 
bpttom by the circular tympanic membrane. Behind 
that membrane is the cavity called the drum of the ear, 
this cavity being separated from the space between it 
and the brain by a bony partition, in which there are 
two orifices, the one round and the other oval. These 
orifices are also closed by fine membranes. Across the 
cavity of the drum stretches a series of four httle bones ; 
the first, called the hammer, is attached to the tympanic 
membrane ; the second, called the anvil, is connected by 
a joint with the hammer ; a third little round bone con- 
nects the anvil with the stirrup-hone, which has its oval 
base planted against the membrane of the oval orifice 
above referred to. The base of the stirrup-bone abats 
against this membrane, almost covering it, and leaving 
but a narrow rim of the membrane surrounding the 
bone. Behind the bony partition, and between it and 
the brain, we have the extraordinary organ called the 
labyrinth, which is filled with water, and over the living 
membrane of which the terminal fibres of the auditory 
nerve are distributed. When the tympanic membrane 
receives a shock, that shock is transmitted through the 
series of bones above referred to, and is concentrated on 
the membrane against which the base of the stirrup- 
bone is planted. That membrane transfers the shock to 
the water of the labyrinth, which, in its turn, transfers it 
to the nerves. 

" The transmission, however, is not direct At a cer- 
tain place within the labyrinth exceedingly fine elastic 



NEW THEORY OF SOUND. 175 

bristles, terminating in sharp points, grow up between 
the terminal nerve fibres. These bristles, discovered by- 
Max Schultze, are eminently calculated to sympathize 
with those vibrations of the water which correspond to 
their proper periods. Thrown thus into vibration, the 
bristles stir the nerve fibres which lie between their roots 
and excite audition. At another place in the labyrinth 
we have little crystalline particles called otolithes — the 
Horsteine of the Germans — embedded among the ner- 
vous filaments, and which, when they vibrate, exert an 
intermittent pressure upon the adjacent nerve fibres, 
thus exciting audition. The otolithes probably sub- 
serve a different purpose from that fulfilled by the 
bristles of Schultze. They are fitted, by their weight, 
to accept and prolong the vibrations of evanescent 
sounds, which might otherwise escape attention. The 
bristles of Schultze, on the contrary, because of their 
lightness, would instantly yield up an evanescent motion, 
while they are eminently fitted for the transmission of 
continuous vibrations. Finally, there is in the labyrinth 
a wonderful organ, discovered by the Marchese Corti, 
which is to all appearance a musical instrument, with 
its chords so stretched as to accej)t vibrations of differ- 
ent periods, and transmit them to the nerve filaments 
which traverse the organ. Within the ears of men, and 
without their knowledge or contrivance, this lute of 
3,000 strings has existed for ages, accepting the music 
of the outer world, and rendering it fit for reception by 
the brain. Each musical tremor which falls upon this 
organ selects from its tensioned fibres the one appro- 
priate to its own pitch, and throws that fibre into uni- 
sonant vibration- And thus, no matter how complicated 



176 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

the motion of the external air may be, those microscopic 
strings can analyze it and reveal the constituents of 
which it is composed." Pp. 323-325. 

The theory which I have received, so far as regards 
the conveyance of sound from the sounding body to the 
outer ear, may be very briefly stated. The mode of 
conveyance was precisely illustrated by Pro£ Tyndall 
with the row of glass balls. It is by a shock communi- 
cated from particle to particle, and not by a series of 
condensations and rarefactions. The vibrating body 
does move — ^not simply condense — a mass of air ; but this 
mass soon comes to rest, while the shock travels on. 
Now, I shall not undertake to prove, because I presume 
it will not be disputed, that if the particles touch each 
other, as in the case of the glass balls, a shock travels 
with the same rapidity whether it is more or less violent ; 
at least, there can be no appreciable difference. And, 
which is merely stating the same fact, it travels at the 
same rate whatever the distance may be from the point 
of origin- 
It is unnecessary for me to apply this theory to the 
solution of the various phenomena of sound, as the ex- 
planation would in most cases be the same as that given 
in the wave theory ; the assimied origin of the sound 
being in each theory the same. I will, however, copy 
from Prof. Tyndall's work the account of one more ex- 
periment, made to demonstrate the wave theory. I hope 
to be able to make it understood without copying the 
engraving. He has a number of jars, of small diameters 
and various lengths, and by holding a vibrating tuning- 
fork over the mouths of different jars, so that the vibra- 



NEW THEORY OF SOUND. ■ 177 

tions are in a line with the axis of the jar, ascertains that 
when the fork is held over one jar there is sound, when 
held over a jar of different length no sound is heard. 
In the following the letter a designates the position of 
the prong when farthest from the mouth of the jar, and 
b the position when nearest the mouth : 

"Our next question is, what is the length of the 
column of air which most powerfully resounds to this 
fork ? By measurement* with a two-foot rule I find it 
to be thirteen inches. But the length of the wave 
emitted by the fork is fifty-two inches ; hence the length 
of the column of air which resounds to the fork is equal to 
one fourth of the length of the wave produced hy theforh. 
This rule is general, and might be illustrated by any 
other of the forks instead of this one. 

" Figure, then, to your minds the prong, vibrating be- 
tween the limits a and S, placed over its resonant jar. 
In the time required by the prong to move from a to 5, 
the condensation which it produces runs down to the 
bottom of the jar, is there reflected, and as the distance to 
the bottom and back is twenty-six inches, the reflected 
wave will reach the prong at the moment when it is on the 
point of returning from h to a. The rarefaction of the 
wave is produced by the retreat of the prong from h to 
a. This rarefaction will also run to the bottom of the 
jar and back, overtaking the prong just as it reaches the 
limit a, of its excursion. It is plain from this analysis, 
that the vibrations of the fork are perfectly synchronous 
with the vibrations of the aerial column ; and in virtue 
of this synchronism the motion accumulates in the jar, 

* Of the jar. 



178 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

spreads abroad in the room, and produces this vast aug- 
mentation of the sound." Pp. 174, 175. 

By the wave fifty-two inches in length is meant the 
condensation and rarefaction produced by one vibration ; 
the condensation is one-half of this, or twenty-six inches. 
Perhaps the absurdity of Tyndall's idea will be more 
readily apparent to the reader by supposing the vibrat- 
ing body to be a piston working in the top of a cylin- 
der. The piston in moving from a to 5 would, accord- 
ing to Tyndall, produce a condensation twenty-six inches 
in length if the cylinder was long enough ; but because 
the cylinder is only thii-teen inches in length, the con- 
densation runs to the bottom of the cylinder, is there 
reflected, and runs up to the top. Now, what sense is 
there in the idea of the condensation running to the 
bottom and back again ? It seems to me to indicate a 
strangely muddled condition of the Professor's intel- 
lect. If the condensation would be twenty-six inches 
in length provided the cylinder was of sufficient length, 
then, if the cylinder is only one-half that length, the de- 
gree of condensation produced will be twice as great. 
That is all that would occur ; there would be no run- 
ning down and back, or reflection in the case. And 
the proper length of jar for that tuning-fork would be 
twenty-six inches. At least, if a shorter jar gave more 
sound, it could only be because the air became more 
condensed ; and, therefore, a still shorter jar, one less 
than thirteen inches in length, would give still greater 
sound. It appears, however, that Tyndall found thirteen 
inches to be the proper length. 

Suppose, now, a column of the glass balls, touching 
each other, to extend from the bottom to the top of the 



NEW THEORY OF SOUND. , 179 

jar, and that the prong of the tuning-fork when at h 
strikes the top of the column. Suppose, also, that the 
shock thus communicated to the top ball would, if the 
column was of suflSicient length, travel twenty-six inches 
while the prong was moving from 6 to a ; then it would, 
of course, travel to the bottom of the jar, be there re- 
flected, and again reach the top in the same time. 

So far, this new theory is simple enough; but the 
mode in which it supposes sound to be transmitted to 
the brain is more difficult of comprehension. The diffi- 
culty is in comprehending the functions of the inner 
ear ; and tins difficulty is equally great upon any the- 
ory. The following description, taken from Dalton's 
Physiology^ is, I think, as intelligible as any I could, give 
without copying engravings : 

" All the vibrations which are received by the mem- 
brana tym^ani, are transmitted by the chain of bones 
to the membrane of the foramen ovale. Behind the 
membrane of the foramen ovale lies the labyrinth or 
internal ear. This consists of a complicated cavity, ex- 
cavated in the petrous portion of the temporal bone, and 
comprising an ovoid central portion, the vestibule, a 
double spiral canal, the cochlea, and three semicircular 
canals, all communicating by means of the common ves- 
tibule. All parts of this cavity contain a watery fluid 
termed the perilymph. The vestibule and semicircular 
canals also contain closed membranous sacs, suspended 
in the fluid of the perilymph, which reproduce exactly 
the form of the bony cavities themselves, and commu- 
nicate with each other in a similar way. These sacs 
are filled with another watery fluid, the endolymph ; and 



180 MODEEN DIABOLISM. " 

the terminal fHaments of the auditory nerve are distrib- 
uted upon the membranous sac of the vestibule and upon 
the ampullae, or membranous dilatations, at the com- 
mencement of the three semicircular canals. The re- 
maining portion of the auditory nerve is distributed 
upon the septum between the two sphal canals of the 
cochlea." 

It is certainly difficult to imagine that this compli- 
cated organ serves merely for the transmission of mo- 
tion; it does not appear to be at all adapted to that 
purpose. Owing to the difficulty in communicating, I 
can only give, in my own language, the idea I have re- 
ceived ; and the reader must decide for himself which 
theory appears the most probable. 

A shock, or jar, whether communicated to a living 
or an inanimate body, always developes electricity. 
The internal ear is an organ peculiarly adapted to the 
sudden development and discharge of electricity by per- 
cussion; so that the slightest shock received by it 
causes a sensible discharge. Each shock communicated 
to the "membrane of the foramen ovale," and conse 
quently to the " labyrinth," causes an electric discharge 
which is conveyed by the auditory nerve to the brain. 
The sensation of sound, then, according to this theory, 
is produced by a rapid succession of electric shocks, 
transmitted through the auditory nerve to the brain. 

The pitch of a note depends, as Prof Tyndall states, 
upon the rapidity of vibration ; that is, upon the rapid- 
ity with which the electric shocks are received. And 
the quality^ or that by which we distinguish the music 
of one instrument from that of another, is determined 
by the fact stated by the Professor, namely, the minute 



NEW THEORY OF SOUND. 181 

vibrations. But as there is no wave, there is no " form " 
in the case. Each minute vibration produces a distinct 
shock ; and it is the order of succession of the shocks 
of diiferent intensity which determines the quality. 



CHAPTEE yn. 

ON THE DYNAMICAL THEORY OF HEAT. 

Professor Tyndall has published, under the title 
of "Heat considered as a Mode of Motion," a series of 
lectures delivered in the Eoyal Institution. Having 
already noticed one work by Prof Tyndall, I should 
have preferred here reviewing one by some other author, 
but have been unable to find such. The assertion that 
heat is simply a mode of motion, is made frequently 
enough ; but if any other work upon the theory than 
the above has been published, it has not fallen under 
my notice. And, in fact, this work contains very little 
matter purporting to prove, or demonstrate, that heat is 
motion. The following extracts — which I hope will be 
understood without the engravings — are all from the 
third lecture, the only one in which the Professor makes 
any special attempt to prove his theory : 

" Suppose I have a quantity of air contained in a very 
tall cylinder, A B, the transverse section of which is 
one square inch in area. Let the top A of the cylinder 
be open to the air, and let P be a piston, which, for rea- 
sons to be explained immediately, I will suppose to 
weigh two pounds one ounce, and which moves air- 
tight and without friction, up or down in the cylinder. 
At the commencement of the experiment, let the piston 



DYNAMICAL THEORY OF HEAT. 183 

be at the point P of tlie cylinder, and let the height of 
the cylinder from its bottom B to the point P be 273 
inches, the air underneath the piston being at a temper- 
ature of 0^ C. Then, on heating the air from 0*=* to 1° 
C. the piston will rise one inch ; it will now stand at 274 
inches above the bottom. If the temperature be raised 
two degrees, the piston will stand at 275, if raised three 
degrees it will stand at 276, if raised ten degrees it will 
stand at 283, if one hundred degrees it will stand at 373 
inches above the bottom; finally, if the temperature 
were raised to 273^^ C, it is quite manifest 273 inches 
would be added to the height of the column, or, in other 
words, by heating the aii- to 273'=' C, its volume would 
he doubled. 

" It is evident that the gas in this experiment exe- 
cutes work. In expanding from P upwards, it has to 
overcome the downward pressure of the atmosphere, 
which amounts to fifteen pounds on every square inch, 
and also the weight of the piston itself, which is two 
pounds one ounce. Hence, the section of the cylinder 
being one square inch in area, in expanding from P to 
P' the work done by the gas is equivalent to the raising 
a weight of seventeen pounds one ounce, or 273 ounces, 
to a height of 273 inches. It is just the same as what 
it would accomplish if the air above P were entirely 
abolished, and a piston weighing seventeen pounds one 
ounce were placed at P. 

"Let us now alter our mode of experiment, and in- 
stead of allowing our gas to expand when heated, let us 
oppose its expansion by augmenting the pressure upon 
it. In other words, let us keep its volume constant while 
it is being heated. Suppose, as before, the initial tem- 



184 MODEEK DIABOLISM. 

perature of the gas to be 0° C, the pressure upon it, 
including the weight of the piston P, being, as formerly, 
273 ounces. Let us warm the gas from 0° C. to 1° C. ; 
what weight must we add to P in order to keep its vol- 
ume constant? Exactly one ounce. But we have sup- 
posed the gas, at the commencement, to be under a press- 
ure of 273 ounces, and the pressure it sustains is the 
measure of its elastic force ; hence, by being heated one 
degree, the elastic force of the gas has augmented by 
-g-^-g- of what it possessed at 0"^. If we warm it 2°, two 
ounces must be added. And if we raise its temperature 
273'^, we should have to add 273 ounces ; that is, we 
should have to double the original pressure to keep the 
volume constant. 

" It is simply for the sake of clearness, and to avoid 
fractions in our reflections, that I have supposed the 
gas to be under the original pressure of 273 ounces. 
No matter what its pressure may be, the addition of 1° 
C. to its temperature produces an augmentation of -^-y g- 
of the elastic force which the gas possesses at the freez- 
ing temperature ; and by raising its temperature 273°, 
while its volume is kept constant, its elastic force is 
doubled. Let us now compare this experiment with 
the last one. There we heated a certain amount of gas 
from 0° to 273"^, and doubled its volume by so doing, 
the double volume being attained while the gas lifted a 
weight of 273 ounces to a height of 273 inches. Here 
we heat the same amount of gas from 0° to 273°, but 
we do not permit it to lift any weight. We keep its 
volume constant. The quantity of matter heated in 
both cases is the same ; the temperature to which it is 
heated is in both cases the same ; but are the absolute 



DYNAMICAL THEORY OF HEAT. 185 

quantities of heat imparted in both cases the same ? By 
no means. Supposing that to raise the temperature of 
the gas, whose volume is kept constant, 273"^, ten grains 
of combustible matter are necessary ; then to raise the 
temperature of the gas whose pressure is kept constant 
an equal number of degrees, would require the con- 
sumption of fourteen and one-quarter grains of the same 
combustible matter. The heat produced hy the consump 
Hon of the additional four and one-quarter grains, in the 
latter case, is entirely consumed in lifting the weight^ 

The deduction, stated in the closing sentence, is all 
that I have any occasion to notice. This is about as 
silly as that from the experiment with the tin tube in 
the lecture on sound. If there had been no weight 
whatever upon the gas in the latter case, or if the pis- 
ton had been raised by some external force, and the gas 
permitted to expand without lifting an ounce, then to 
raise the temperature to 273^2 would have required pre- 
cisely the same additional amount of combustible mat- 
ter over that required in the former case. The cause 
of this is that the capacity for heat of the gas is increased 
by expansion ; a fact almost as well known, and as long 
known, as any phenomenon connected with heat. 

"Let us now check our conclusions regarding the in- 
fluence which the performance of work has on the quan- 
tity of heat communicated to the gas. Is it possible to 
allow a gas to expand without performing work ? This 
question is answered by the following important experi- 
ment, which was first made by Gay Lussac. I have 
here two copper vessels, A, B, of the same size, one of 
which. A, is exhausted, and the other, B, filled with air. 
I turn the cock C ; the air rushes out of B into A, until 



186 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

the same pressure exists in both, vessels. Now the air, 
in driving its own particles out of B, performs work, and 
experiments which we have already made inform us, 
that the residue of air which remains in B must be 
chilled. The particles of air enter A with a certain 
velocity, to generate which the heat of the air in B has 
been sacrificed ; but they immediately strike against the 
interior surface of A, their motion of translation is an- 
nihilated, and the exact quantity of heat lost by B ap- 
pears in A. Mix the contents of A and B together, 
and you have air of the original temperature. There 
is no work performed, and there is no heat lost" 

This is called an important experiment. Now, the 
idea which most persons have of an experiment is, that 
it is performed to ascertain or demonstrate something ; 
this did nothing of the kind. It was not even shown 
that the air rushed out of B into A ; though I think we 
may assume that such would be the fact, because this 
has been demonstrated by other experiments. But the 
succeeding idiotic statements of the Professor were not 
confirmed by merely turning "the cock 0," which ap- 
pears to be all that was done. He says the heat lost by 
B appears in A ; but he made no attempt to show that 
such was the fact. And what could the man have 
meant by such a statement, or by the statement that if 
the contents of the two vessels were mixed together the 
air would be of the original temperature ? The truth 
evidently is, that the Professor had somehow got the 
idea in his muddled brain that this was a " scientific " 
theory, but had no clear conception, or definite idea of 
what he was talking about. To perceive any sense in 
the paragraph, it would be necessary to assume that the 



DYNAMICAL THEORY OF HEAT. 187 

air in A became actually warmer than before tbe expan- 
sion occurred. But every one of ordinary education 
knows that the air in both vessels would become alike 
cooled ; and, therefore, that if mixed together, no change 
of temperature would occur. If the contents of both 
vessels were again condensed into one, the air would re- 
turn to its original temperature. But to assume that 
the Professor meant condense when he said mix would 
be to assume that he does not understand the English 
language ; besides, this would make the paragraph ut- 
terly meaningless. No heat was "lost" in this case, 
and none is lost by air which performs "work." If in 
the latter case the air was condensed to its original vol- 
ume, it would regain its original temperature ; assum- 
ing, of course, that no heat was subtracted by contact 
with colder surfaces. 

"Mr. Joule made this experiment by compressing 
twenty-two atmospheres of air into one of his vessels, 
while the other was exhausted. On surrounding both 
vessels by water, kept properly agitated, no augmenta- 
tion of temperature was observed in the water, when the 
gas was allowed to stream from one vessel into the 
other." 

I can readily believe that. Instead of the tempera- 
ture of the water being augmented, it would, of course, 
be decreased by the operation. The air would be cooled 
by the expansion, and would then extract heat from the 
water ; assuming that the air and water were at the same 
temperature before the expansion occurred. I know 
nothing about Mr. Joule, but is it possible that there is, 
or has recently been, living in England, another philos- 
opher besides Tyndall who would make an experiment 



188 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

to ascertain wliether the expansion of air surrounded by 
water heated the water ? I had supposed that every one 
of ordinary information knew that the expansion of air 
cooled it, and that it would extract heat from any body 
warmer than itself placed in contact with it. 

T suppose Tyndall's idea must have been this: In 
this experiment the air performed no work, consequently 
it lost no heat ; and the fact that the water gained no 
heat proves that the air lost none. No theory of heat 
with which I am familiar, assumes that the air would 
lose heat in such a case. The caloric theory, as it is 
called, does not ; it simply assumes that the heat be- 
comes less sensible, and that if the air was condensed 
to its original volume it would be as warm as before. 
In the illustration of the cylinder, where the expanding 
airlifted a weight, it performed "work." In this case 
heat was added to the air. But let us suppose a body 
of compressed air in the lower portion of the cylinder. 
The air would, by expansion, lift a weight to the top 
of the cylinder without any heat being added to it; 
though, of course, a less weight than if heat was added. 
According to Tyndall's theory, if the cylinder in this, 
case was surrounded with water of the temperature of 
the air before it commenced expanding, the water would 
gain heat, because the air performs work, and therefore 
loses heat. But the well-known /ac^ is, that the water 
would lose heat, instead of gaining. Tyndall admits 
that in such a case the air would become cooled ; and 
every one knows that if two bodies of unequal tempera- 
ture are placed in contact the colder will extract heat 
from the warmer until both become of the. same tempera- 
ture. 



DYNAMICAL THEORY OF HEAT. 189 

But look at the incoherency of the Professor's ideas, 
viewed upon his own theory. The heat of a body, ac- 
cording to his theory, is simply naotion of the particles 
of the body. By losing heat, must be meant, that the 
particles lose their motion, or that their motion becomes 
less violent. Tyndall's idea, then, must be that air in 
lifting a weight loses heat because the pressure of the 
weight upon the particles reduces their motion. Now, 
can any sane man imagine how the reduction of the mo- 
tion of the particles of the air by the pressure of the 
weight would increase the motion of the particles of the 
water surrounding the air ? K the theory assumed that 
when two bodies of unequal temperature are placed in 
contact, the warmer body will gain heat from the colder 
one, then it might be assumed that the water in such a 
case would gain heat, but not otherwise. 

" In like manner, supposing the top of the cylinder* 
to be closed, and the half above the piston a perfect 
vacuum ; and suppose the air in the lower half to be 
heated 273°, its volume being kept constant. If the press- 
ure were removed the air would expand and fill the 
cylinder; the lower portion of the column would thereby 
be chilled, but the upper portion would be heated, and 
mixing both portions together, we should have the whole 
column at a temperature of 278°. In this case we raise 
the temperature of the gas from 0° to 273°, and after- 
wards allow it to double its volume; the state of the 
gas at the commencement, and at the end, is the same 
as when the gas expands against a constant pressure, or 
lifts a constant weight ; but the absolute quantity of 

• Eefening to former illustration. 



190 MODEKN DIABOLISM. 

heat in the latter case is 1 421 times that employed in 
the former, the difference being due to the fact that the 
gas, in the one case, performs mechanical work, and in 
the other not." 

This, again, is positively idiotic. The Professor here 
states plainly, that when a column of air expands, the 
upper portion becomes warmer, so that, although the 
lower portion is chilled, the mean temperature remains 
the same. My readers, at least those who are not pro- 
fessors of natural philosophy, must know that the whole 
column would be cooled, and cooled in the same degree. 
And it makes not the slightest difference whether the 
air does, or does not, lift a weight ; the degree of refrig- 
eration produced by the expansion is in each case pre- 
cisely the same ; and it would require, in each case, pre- 
cisely the same amount of heat to raise the temperature 
of the expanded air to any given point. 

" We are taught by this experiment that mere rare- 
faction is not of itself sufficient to produce a lowering 
of the mean temperature of a mass of air. It was, and 
is still, a current notion, that the mere expansion of a 
gas produced refrigeration, no matter how that expan- 
sion was effected. The coldness of the higher atmos- 
pheric regions was accounted for by reference to the ex- 
pansion of the air. It was thought that what we have 
called the ' capacity for heat ' was greater in the case 
of the rarefied than of the unrarefied gas. But the re- 
frigeration which accompanies expansion is, in reality, 
due to the consumption of heat in the performance of 
work by the expanding gas. Where no work is per- 
formed there is no absolute refrigeration." 

This is another of the Professor's " experiments." 



\ 



DTNAmCAL THEORY OF HEAT. 191 

In this case he did not even do as much as in the " im- 
portant exp riraent," where " the cock C " was turned ; 
at least I infer it was. How " we are taught " any- 
thing by an experiment, where no experiment is per- 
formed, I fail to perceive. Speaking for myself, I do 
not feel as though I had been "taught"- much. If the 
Professor had permitted a column of air to expand, as 
supposed, tested with a thermometer the temperature 
of the air before expansion, and that of the upper 
portion of the column after expansion, this would have 
been an experiment ; and this would have shown him 
that the upper portion was cooled by the expansion, 
for this kind of an experiment has been often made. 
It is, and I hope will continue to be, with all but a few 
crack-brained professors like this one, " a current no- 
tion " that expansion produces refrigeration, whether 
"work " is performed or not 

And look again at the incoherency of the Professor. 
The upper portion of the atmosphere, according to him, 
becomes cooled by expansion, while the upper portion 
of air in a cylinder becomes heated from the same cause. 
For all the air in the cylinder performs precisely the 
same kind of " work " that the upper portion of the 
atmosphere does. 

As I have already stated, if heat is simply a motion 
of the particles of a body, and expansion does not pro- 
duce refrigeration unless a weight is lifted, then it must 
be that the pressure upon the particles impedes their 
motion, and brings them to a state of rest, or of less vio- 
lent motion. No meaning or coherence can be perceived 
in the theory unless this is the assumption. But if this 
were true, then the greater the weight, or pressure, the 



192 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

more rapid would be the refrigeration. A weight wMch 
a column of air could not lift would bring the particles 
to a state of rest sooner than one which it could lift. In 
other words, if a column of heated air was prevented 
from expanding, it would, according to this theory, cool 
more rapidly than if expansion was permitted, whether 
it lifted a weight or not 

The preceding twaddle is followed by this exhortation, 
which closes the lecture : — " All this needs reflection to 
arrive at clearness, but every effort of this kind which 
you make will render your subsequent efforts easier, 
and should you fail, at present, to gain clearness of 
comprehension, I repeat my recommendation of patience. 
Do not quit this portion of the subject without an effort 
to comprehend it — wrestle with it for a time, but do not 
despair if you fail to arrive at clearness." 

Wrestle with it ! One might as profitably " wrestle " 
with Andrew Jackson Davis' theory of the tides, which 
I have given at the close of the fifth chapter. 

Professor Tyndall is one of those wonderfully " scien- 
tific " men, who know, without examination, that all 
the phenomena called by some spiritual, are mere jug- 
glery. Or, perhaps they will visit a medium once or 
twice, and then explain the "whole thing;" while to 
common people, like myself, after the most careful and 
cautious examination, the phenomena remain a profound 
mystery. 

In a work by Prof. Tyndall, entitled " Fragments of 
Science for Unscientific People," there is an article 
under the heading of " Science and the Spirits " — 
Science being represented by Tyndall — giving an ac- 



DYNAMICAL THEORY OF HEAT. 193 

count of a stance where an attempt was made to investigate 
the subject bj, as stated, " a scientific man," namely, 
Tyndall. I have here given all the " science " there is 
in the article ; why it was published, since it does not 
give a particle of information, no one but " a scientific 
man," like Tyndall — and just such an one — can per- 
ceive. However, Tyndall got under the table to see 
how the raps were made ; and he states that he arose 
from under that table with a despair for humanity, such 
as he never felt before. Here the Professor leaves us in 
the dark ; as to what caused such great depression he 
does not give the slightest hint ; it is enough that " a 
scientific man " arose from' under that table with despair 
for humanity. This leads me to the repetition of a remark 
which I have read several times, namely, that this is a 
melancholy and despairing world ! Prof Tyndall de- 
spairs because " unscientific people " will believe the 
evidence of their senses against the assertions of " scien- 
tific men" like himself; while the reflection that such 
humbugs are considered scientific men has upon my 
mind an equally depressing effect. 



CHAPTER Yin. 

ON" THE UNDULATORY THEORY OF LIGHT 

In the Encyclopedia Meiropoliiana, I find the follow- 
ing definitions of the corpuscular and undulatory theories 
of light, by Sir J. R W. Herschel : 

" The Newtonian^ or Corpuscular Theory. 

" Postula 1. That light consists of particles of matter 
possessed of inertia and endowed with attractive and re- 
pulsive forces, and projected or emitted fi'om all lumi- 
nous bodies with nearly the same velocity, about 200,000 
miles per second. 

*' 2. That these particles differ from each other in the 
intensity of the attractive and repulsive forces which re- 
side in them, and in their relations to the other bodies 
of the material world, and also in their actual masses, or 
inertia. 

"3. That these particles, impinging on the retina, 
stimulate it and excite vision. The particles whose 
inertia is greatest producing the sensation of red, those 
of least inertia of violet, and those in which it is inter- 
mediate the intermediate colors. 

" 4. That the molecules of material bodies, and those 
of light, exert a mutual action on each other, which con 
sists in attraction and repulsion, according to some law 



UNDULATOBY THEORY OF LIGHT. 195 

or function of the distance between them ; that this law 

*■* 

is such as to admit, perhaps, of several alternations, or 
changes from repulsive to attractive force ; but that 
when the distance is below a certain very small limit it 
is always attractive up to actual contact ; and that be- 
yond this limit resides at least one sphere of repulsion. 
This repulsive sphere is that which causes the reflexion 
of light at the external surfaces of dense media ; and the 
interior attraction that which produces the refraction and 
interior reflexion of light 

" 5. That the forces have different absolute values, or 
intensities, not only for all different material bodies, but 
for every different species of the luminous molecules, 
being of a nature analogous to chemical affinities, or 
electric attractions, and that hence arises the different 
refrangibility of the rays of light 

" 6. That the motion of a particle of light under the 
influence of these forces and its own velocity is regulated 
by the same mechanical laws which govern the motions 
of ordinary matter, and that therefore each particle de- 
scribes a trajectory capable of strict calculation so soon 
as the forces which act on it are assigned. 

" 7. That the distance between the molecules of 
material bodies is exceedingly small in comparison with 
the extent of their spheres of attraction and repulsion on 
the particles of light. And 

" 8. That the forces which produce the reflexion and 
refraction of light are, nevertheless, absolutely insensible 
at all measurable or appreciable distances from the 
molecules which exert them. 

" 9. That every luminous molecule, during the whole 
of its progress through space, is continually passing 



196 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

throiigli certain periodically recurring states, called by 
Newton fits of easy reflexion and easy transmissioo, in 
virtue of which (from whatever cause arising, whether 
from a rotation of the molecules on their axes, and the 
consequent alternate presentation of attractive and re- 
pulsive poles, or from any other conceivable cause) they 
are more disposed, when in the former states or phases 
of their periods, to obey the impulse of the repulsive or 
reflective forces of the molecules of a medium ; and 
when in the latter, of the attractive." 

This theory has now, I believe, no advocates ; and I 
copy these definitions merely for the purpose of letting 
the reader perceive wherein it agrees with, and wherein 
it differs from, that which I have received. 

" The Undulatory Theory. 

"1. That an excessively rare, subtle and elastic 
medium, or ether, fills all space, and pervades all 
material bodies, occupying the intervals between their 
molecules ; and either by passing freely among them, or 
by its extreme rarity, offering no resistance to the mo- 
tion of the earth, the planets or comets in their orbits 
appreciable by the most delicate astronomical observa- 
tions ; and having inertia but not gravity. 

" 2. That the molecules of the ether are susceptible 
qf being set in motion by the agitation of the particles 
of ponderable matter; and that when any one is thus 
set in motion it communicates a similar motion to those 
adjacent to it, and thus the motion is propagated farther 
and farther in all directions, according to the same 
mechanical laws which regulate the propagation of 



UNDULATORY THEORY OF LIGHT. 197 

undulations in other elastic media, as air, water or solids, 
according to tlieir respective constitutions. 

" 3. That in the interior of refracting media the ether 
exists in a state of less elasticity, compared with its 
density, than in vacuo ; ?'. e., in space empty of all other 
matter ; and that the more refractive the medium, the 
less, relatively speaking, is the elasticity of the ether in 
its interior. 

"4. That vibrations communicated to the ether in 
free space are propagated through refractive media by 
means of the ether in their interior, but with a velocity 
corresponding to its inferior degree of elasticity. 

" 5. That when regular vibratory motions of a proper 
kind are propagated through the ether, and passing 
through our eyes, reach and agitate the nerves of the 
retina, they produce in us the sensation of light, in a 
manner having a more or less close analogy to that in 
wliich the vibrations of the air affect the auditory nerves 
with that of sound. 

" 6- That as in the doctrine of sound, the frequency 
of the aerial pulses, or the number of excursions to and 
fro, from the point of rest, made by each molecule of 
the air, determines the pitch or note, so, in the theory 
of light, the frequency of the pulses, or number of im- 
pulses made on our nerves in a given time by the ethe- 
real molecules next in contact with them, determines 
the color of the light ; and that as tbe absolute extent 
of the motion to and fro of the particles of air deter- 
mines the loudness of the sound, so the ampliiude or ex- 
tent of the excursions of the ethereal molecules from 
their points of rest determines the hrightjiess or intensity 
of the light'" 



I 



198 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

After stating the doctrine that, " supposing the elastic 
medium uniform and homogeneous, all motions of what- 
ever kind are propagated through it in all directions 
with one and the same uniform velocity," Herschel 
makes the following comment : 

" Kow, here arises, in limine^ a great difficulty ; and 
it must not be dissembled that it is impossible not to 
look at it as a most formidable objection to the undida- 
tory doctrine. It will be shown presently that the de- 
viation of light by refraction is a consequence of the 
difference of its velocities within and without the re- 
fracting medium, and that when these velocities are 
given the amount of deviation is also given. Hence it 
would appear to follow unavoidably, that rays of all 
colors must be in all cases equally refracted ; and that, 
therefore, there could exist no such phenomenon as dis- 
persion. Dr. Young has attempted to gloss over this 
difficulty, by calling in to his assistance the vibrations 
of the ponderable matter of the refracting medium it- 
self as modifying the velocity of the ethereal undula- 
tions within it, and that differently according to their 
frequency, and thus producing a difference in the ve- 
locity of propagation of the different colors ; but to us 
it appears with more ingenuity than success. We hold 
it better to state it at once in its broadest terms, and call 
on the reader to suspend his condemnation of the doc- 
trine for what it apparently will not explain, till he has 
become acquainted with the immense variety and com- 
plication of the phenomena which it will. The fact is, 
that neither the corpuscular nor the undulatory, nor any 
other system which has yet been devised, will furnish 



UNDULATORY THEORY OF LIGHT. 199 

that complete and satisfactory explanation of all the 
phenomena of light which is desirable." 

In a more recent work I find it stated as a compara- 
tively modern discovery, that the velocity of propaga- 
tion varies with the length of the wave, being greatest 
for the longer ones, and least for the shorter ; and this 
discovery, the writer thought, removed the objection 
stated by Herschel Whether this reputed discovery 
has been fully confirmed, or supposed to have been, or 
not, I am unable to state. Of course there could be no 
truth in it if Herschel's doctrine that, in a homogeneous 
medium, all motions are propagated with equal velocity, 
was correct ; but it appears to me certain that upon this 
point Herschel was entirely, and unaccountably, mis- 
taken. 

The explanation given by Herschel of the fact that 
light transmitted through a prism exhibits colors — the 
prismatic spectrum — whde that transmitted through a 
plate of glass having parallel sides does not, appears to 
me unsatisfactory. The explanation is, in brief, that in 
the latter case, the light, which is decomposed by the 
first surface, is recomposed by the second surface. 
Each undulation sufi'ers the same degree of refraction 
by the second surface as by the first, and in the oppo- 
site direction, therefore, on leaving the second surface 
the undulations are propagated parallel to each other, 
and the light is thus recomposed. Now, if the colors 
are separated by the first surflice, if the red waves are 
refracted to one side of the beam of light, and the violet 
to the other side, they must remain separated on leaving 
the second surface, although they proceed parallel to 
each other. But it is said all the colors are not trans- 



200 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

posed, or separated, by the first surface. Then thej are 
not all separated by a prism. The degree of separation, 
or decomposition, effected by a prism would be greater 
than that effected by a plate of glass having parallel 
sides ; and, therefore, in the former case the colors 
would be more distinct ; but the fact that in the latter 
case the light appears entirely colorless is not explained 
by this theory. 

Sir David Brewster, in his Treatise on Optics, gives the 
same explanation as Herschel, of the effect of the two 
surfaces of a plate of glass having parallel sides ; and 
demonstrates the theory, a^he thinks, by the following 
experiment : 

"The refraction and re- union of the rays in this ex- 
periment may be well exhibited by placing a thick plate 
of oil of cassia between two parallel plates of glass, and 
making a narrow beam of the sun's light fall upon it 
very obliquely. The spectrum formed by the action 
of the first surface will be distinctly visible, and the 
re-union of the colors by the second will be equally dis- 
tinct. We may, therefore, consider the action of a plate 
of parallel glass on the sun's rays passing obliquely 
through it, that is, its property of transmitting them 
colorless, as a sufB.cient proof of the recomposition of 
light" 

This is rather loose lano^uaare for a scientific treatise. 
No re-union of the rays by the second surface can be 
perceived ; all that can properly be said is, that the 
light which passes through the parallel sides appears 
colorless. But how could Su- David perceive the spec- 
trum formed, as he thought, by the first surface ? There 
is no possibility of perceiving the action of the first sur- 



UNDULATORY THEORY OF LIGHT. 201 

face ; for the light which enters the eye must pass 
through two surfaces. I presume that Sir David, in 
viewing the spectrum, let the beam of light fall upon 
the side of the plate, and viewed the first surface 
through the top, or edge, of the plate. The light which 
entered his eyes, had, therefore, passed through what 
was practically a prism ; and the experiment demon- 
strated nothing, except that light passed through a prism 
exliibits colors while that passed through parallel sur- 
faces does not* 

I cannot, of course, within the limits of a single chap- 
ter, undertake a general examination of this theory ; 
but will notice what is, I believe, considered one of its 
strongest evidences, and state what I think the most 
valid objections. The ethereal undulations have been 
compared to those of a stretched cord ; and an assemblage 
of stretched cords through which undulations in all planes, 
and of different lengths, are propagated, will give an 
idea of what is meant in this theory by a ray of light 
The discovery, as is thought, of the interference of light, 
is considered one of the strongest evidences of the truth 
of the theory ; and this reputed discovery appears to be 
a deduction from an experiment by Dr. Young. The 
following is from Herschel's Treatise : 

" Dr. Young passed a sunbeam through a hole made 

* When the above was written, I thought the phenomena referred 
to could not be explained upon the undulatory theory. I should 
still think so if there was no other explanation than that given by 
Herschel and Brewster, and therefore have not cancelled the criticism. 
But the theory I have since received explains the refraction iu each 
case in the same way. The explanation of the fact that no colors 
are distinguished in the case of the parallel sides is, however, en- 
tirely different. 



202 MODErJsr diabolism. 

with a fine needle in thick paper, and brought into the 
diverging beam a slip of card one-thirtieth of an inch 
in breadth, and observed its shadow on a white screen at 
different distances. The shadow was divided by parallel 
bands, but the central line was always white. That 
these bands originated in the interference of the light 
passing on both sides of the card Dr. Young demon- 
strated by simply intercepting the light passing on one 
side by a screen, leaving the rays on the other side to 
pass freely. In this arrangement, all the fringes which 
bad before existed in the shadow disappeared." 

The following is Herschel's explanation of interference: 
" If two wav^es arrive at once at the same molecule of 
the ether, that molecule will receive at once both the 
motions it would have had in virtue of each separately, 
and its resultant motion will, therefore, be the diagonal 
of a parallelogram whose sides are the separate ones. If, 
therefore, the two component motions agree in direction 
or very nearly so, the resultant will be very nearly equal 
to their sum, and in the same direction. If they very 
nearly oppose each other, then to their difference. Sup- 
pose, now, two vibratory motions consisting of a series 
of successive undulations in an elastic medium, all 
similar and equal to each other, and indefinitely re- 
peated, to arrive at the same point from the same original 
centre of vibration, but by different routes (owing to the 
interposition of obstacles or other causes) exactly, or 
very nearly in the same final direction ; and suppose, 
also, that owing either to- a difference in the lengths of 
the routes, or to a difference in the velocities with which 
they are traversed, the time occupied by a wave in 
arriving by the first route (A) is less than that of its 



UNDULATORY THEORY OF LIGHT. 203 

arriving by the other (B). It is clear, then, that any 
ethereal molecule placed in any point common to the 
two routes A B will begin to vibrate in virtue of the 
undulations propagated along A before the moment 
when the first wave propagated along B reached it. Up, 
then, to this moment its motions will be the same as if 
the waves along B had no existence. But after this 
moment its motions will be very nearly the sum or differ- 
ence of the motions it would have separately in virtue 
of the two undulations each subsisting alone, and the 
more nearly, the more nearly the two routes of arrival 
agree in their final direction. Now, it may happen that 
the difference in the lengths of the routes, or the differ- 
ence of velocities is such, that the waves propagated 
along B shall reach the intersection exactly one-half an 
undulation behind the others, i. e., later by exactly half 
the time of a wave running over a space equal to a com- 
plete undulation. In that case, the molecule which in 
virtue of the vibrations propagated along A would (at 
any future instant) be in one phase of its excursions from 
its point of rest, would in virtue of that propagated along 
B, if subsisting alone, be at the same instant in exactly 
the opposite phase, i. e., moving with equal velocity in 
the contrary direction. Hence, when both systems of 
vibration co-exist the motions will constantly destroy 
each other, and the molecule will remain at rest. The 
same will hold good if the difference of routes or ve- 
locities be such, that the vibrations propagated along B 
shall reach the intersection of the routes exactly ^, I, 2. 
etc., of a complete period of undulations after those pro- 
pagated along A." 

This is all clear enough with one exception. I am 



204 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

unable to perceive what difference it can make, as to 
interference, whether the two series of unlulations do, or 
do not, proceed from the same original centre of vibra- 
tion and nearly agree in their final direction. Other 
writers take the same view of this point as Herschel ; 
but it seems to me a strange hallucination. Suppose 
undulations propagated along two cords which cross 
each other, can it make any difference, as to the inter- 
ference of the undulations, what the angle of intersection 
is? If the cords crossed at right angles, and the vibra- 
tions at the point of intersection were opposed, one being 
downward and the other upward, they would destroy 
each other just as certainly as if the cords were nearly 
parallel. It is the direction of each force operating 
upon the molecule, in the case supposed, which deter- 
mines the result, not the direction of each wave. 

Herschel illustrates the matter by supposing a wave 
formed in a reservoir to be divided by entering two 
canals which unite at some distance from the reservoir. 
If the difference in the lengths of the canals is such, 
that at the point of junction the elevation of the water 
in one will coincide with the depression in the other, 
there will be smooth water in the joint canal. The 
objection to this is, that it is not an illustration of the 
phenomena under consideration. A parallel case would 
be to suppose a thousand waves, originated by a thou- 
sand independent impulses, proceeding by a thousand 
canals into one common canal. The number of waves 
which conflict and coincide woiild be the same whether 
the canals were of the same, or of different lengths. 

The point to be ascertained is, how the insertion of 
the slip of card, in Dr. Young's experiment, produced 



UKDULATORY THEORY OF LIGHT. 205 

sensible interference, when otherwise there would have 
been none. Granting Herschel's views to be correct, 
how does the slip of card produce interference? The 
only attempt at a definite explanation of this point that 
I have seen is in a work by Jonathan Pereira on Polar- 
ized Light Pereira's theory is, that a portion of the 
•waves are reflected, or caused to diverge from their 
original course by the slip of card ; these intersect waves 
which continue their original course ; and when at the 
point of intersection the vibrations of the two waves 
conflict, there will be mutual destruction, and a dark 
spot will be the result. 

Now, Pereira, in another place, says that " any sensi- 
ble portion of light must contain an infinity of rays ;" 
here he assumes tliC undulations to be of such magni- 
tude that the destruction of two will produce a dark 
spot Again, as the undulations proceed in straight 
lines from the sun to the screen, they must intersect 
without the insertion of the card ; in fact, the undula- 
tions reflected by the card would, if they had continued 
their original course, have intersected other undulations. 
Why, then, are not the dark lines observed without the 
insertion of the card ? Finally, if Pereira's theory was 
correct, the insertion of a wider slip would have the 
same effect ; but it is quite certain that if a slip of any 
considerable width was inserted no such phenomena 
would be observed. If any advocate of the undulatory 
theory has given a clear and sensible explanation of this 
experiment, cited as one of the strongest proofs of the 
theory, I have been unable to find it 

One of tl\e principal objections advanced against this 



206 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

theory is, that it does not account for the effect of light 
upon vegetation, or for its various chemical effects. In 
a work by Robert Hunt, F.E.3., entitled Researches on 
Light in its Chemical Relations;! find, among others of 
similar import, the following statements : 

" Those rajs which give the most light — the yellow 
and the orange rays — will not produce change of color • 
in the chloride of silver. 

" Those rays which have the least illuminating power 
— the blue and violet — produce the greatest change, 
and in an exceedingly short space of time. 

" The rays which pass through certain yellow glasses 
have no effect on chloride of silver. 

" The rays which pass through very dark blue glasses 
rapidly change the color. 

" The yellow glasses obstruct scarcely any light ; the 
blue glasses may be so dark as to admit of the perme- 
ation of a very small quantity," 

Mr. Hunt thinks that the undulatory theory does not 
account for the results of his experiments. And is it 
conceivable that while one undulation will rapidly effect 
a certain chemical change, another undulation will not 
produce it at all ? 

Sir David Brewster, in his Treatise on Optics, makes 
the following remarks upon this point : 

" The colors of vegetable life and those of various 
kinds of solids arise, we are persuaded, from a specific 
attraction which the particles of these bodies exercise 
over the differently colored rays of light. It is by the 
light of the sun that the colored juices of plants are elab- 
orated, that the colors of bodies are changed, and that 
many chemical combinations and decompositions are 



UNDULATORY THKORY OF LIGHT. 207 

effected. It is not easy to allow that such effects can 
be produced by the mere vibration of an ethereal m - 
dium ; and we are forced, by this class of facts, to rea- 
son as if light was material. When a portion of light 
enters a body, and is never again seen, we are entitled 
to say that it is detained by some power exerted over 
the light by the particles of the body. That it is at- 
tracted by the particles seems extremely probable, and 
that it enters into combination with them, and produces 
various chemical and physical effects, cannot well be 
doubted ; and without knowing the manner in which 
this combination takes place, we may say that the light 
is absorbed^ which is an accurate expression of the fact." 

But what appears to me the greatest, and indeed an 
unanswerable objection to the undulatory theory, has 
never, so far as my reading has extended, been ad- 
vanced. It is to be found in the fact that the intensity 
of light is inversely as the square of the distance from 
the luminous body. This has been definitely ascer- 
tained by experiments with photometers. 

The undulations, as I have already stated, are com- 
pared to those running through a stretched cord. These, 
that is, the vibrations to each side of a straight line, be- 
come less and less as they recede fi-om the point of ori- 
gin ; and as it is the extent, or amplitude, of these vi- 
brations which determines the intensity of the light, the 
intensity of the light must diminish from this cause as 
the distance increases. " Thus," Herschel says, " while 
the intensity of light, like that of sound, diminishes 
as the distance from its origin increases, its velocity re- 
mains invariable." 



208 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Herscliel is here speaking with reference to this the- 
ory ; and the idea conveyed is, that the undulations con- 
tinue of the same lengthy and are performed in the same 
time as at the commencement, but the extent of the 
vibrations transversely diminishes as the distance in- 
creases-. He states the law as being that the vibrations 
are " inversely as the distance ;" and, by a chain of rea- 
soning which I think it unnecessary to copy, arrives at 
the conclusion that the intensity of effect produced upon 
the retina hj each undulation is inversely as the square 
of the distance ; ''and thus," he says, "the observed law 
of the diminution of light is reconciled to the undula- 
tory doctrine." 

That is, according to Herschel's statement here, the 
diminution in intensity of each undulation accounts for 
all the diminution that occurs. In a preceding portion 
of his Treatise, Herschel makes the following state- 
ment : 

" If 'light be a material emanation, a something scat- 
tered in minute particles in all directions, it is obvious 
that the same quantity which is diffused over the sur- 
face of a sphere concentric with the luminous points, if 
it continue its course will successively be diffused over 
larger and larger concentric spherical surfaces ; and that 
its intensity, or the number of rays which fall on a 
given space, in each will be inversely as the whole sur- 
faces over which it is diffused ; that is, inversely as the 
squares of their radii, or of their distances from the 
source of light." 

And thus the observed law of the diminution of light 
is also reconciled to the corpuscular doctrine. That is, 
according to this Treatise, if the corpuscular theory is 



DNDULATOEY THEORY OF LIGHT. 209 

the correct one, the diffusion of light accounts for all 
tlie diminution of intensity which occurs ; if the undu- 
latoiy is the correct one, tlie diminution in intensity of 
eacli undulation accounts for all that occurs, and conse- 
quently no diminution can occur from diffusion. Sucli 
philosophy is worthy of being propounded by the scien- 
tific Tyndall. To me " it is obvious " that the rate of 
diffusion, and consequently the diminution of intensity 
from this cause, must be precisely the same whether 
light be a material emanation or ethereal undulations. 

The same work {Enc. MetropoUtana) contains a Treatise 
on Optics, by Peter Barlow, F.R.S., from which I 
copy the following, written, it will be perceived, with- 
out reference to any particular theory of light : 

"In a free medium, the force and intensity of light 
which propagates itself in rays emanating from the same 
point, or which concur in the same point, are mversely 
as the squares of the distances from that point. 

" For the deviations from each other of two rays of 
light which proceed from the same point are always, 
proportional to their distances from that point (since 
those deviations form parallel bases of isosceles triangles, 
of which the two rays are the sides). Suppose, there- 
fore, that having intercepted a certain number of rays 
by a plane posited at a certain distance fi-om the radiant 
point, we remove this plane to a double distance, then 
to a triple, to a quadruple distance, and so on: the 
deviations of the rays from each other will be as the 
numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., and each dimension of the base 
of each luminous pyramid which is thus formed in 
succession will be in the same ratio. Consequently, the 
sui'fece of those bases will be as the numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 



210 MODEKN DIABOLISM. 

etc. So that tlie same number of rays are found distrib- 
uted successively over surfaces whicli are respectively 
as the squares of the distances from the radiant point, 
or point of concourse, and, therefore, the intensity of 
light that they excite will diminish in the same pro- 
portion." 

Perhaps the matter will be as readily understood 
from the simple statement that the surfaces of spheres 
of different diameters are as the squares of their radii. 

Here, then, is a fact^ namely, the diffusion of light, 
which fully accounts for all the diminution of intensity 
that occurs, supposing — with refercDce to the undulatory 
theory — each undulation to retain its original intensity. 
Now, whether HerscheTs doctrine, that the intensity in 
effect of each undulation is inversely as the square of 
the distance, is, or is not correct, is a point of litde im- 
portance. As the undulations are supposed to be 
propagated by the inertia of the ethereal molecules, we 
know that the vibrations would become less and less as 
they recede from the point of origin ; and the facts do 
not admit of the supposition that any diminution in the 
intensity of light occurs from such a cause. 

Before leaving this subject, I wish to notice a doctrine 
enunciated by Herschel in this Treatise on Light which 
has no very important bearing here, but has in any 
theory of sound. After defining the undulatory theory, 
he says : 

" The application of these postulates to the explana- 
tion of the phenomena of light, presumes an acquiantance 
with the theory of the propagation of motion through 
elastic media This we shall assume, referring to our 



tJNDULATORY THEORY OF LIGHT. 211 

article on sound for tlie demonstration of all the properties 
and laws of motion so propagated as we shall have oc- 
casion to employ. One of the principal of these is, 
that supposing the elastic medium uniform and homo- 
geneous, all motions of whatever kind are propagated 
through it in all directions with one and the same 
uniform velocity, a velocity depending solely on the 
elasticity of the medium as compared with its inertia, 
and bearing no relation to the greatness or smallness, 
regularity or irregularity of the original disturbance. 
Thus, while the intensity of light, like that of sound, 
diminishes as the distance from its origin increases, its 
velocity remains invariable, and thus, too, as sounds of 
every pitch, so light of every color travels with one 
and the same velocity, either in vacuo, or in a homo- 
geneous medium." 

His Treatise on Sound is contained in the same work, 
but it is unnecessary to notice it further than to say that 
he assumes the wave theory of sound to be correct, and 
attempts to show why all sounds are propagated with the 
same velocity. The doctrine is especially absurd when 
applied to the wave theory of sound ; because in this 
case the motions or pulses are in the direction in which 
.the sound is traveling; and if the reader will turn to 
the chapter on this subject, and read my remarks on this 
point, he will, I think, perceive that the doctrine is 
equivalent to saying that if a man takes ten steps per 
second of one foot each, he travels as fast as a man who 
takes the same number per second of two feet each. 



CHAPTER IX. 

NEW THEORIES OF ELECTRICITY .AJSTD HEAT. 

The theory of electricity which I have received, so 
far as relates to the explanation of most electrical phe- 
nomena, is not new ; yet it does differ somewhat from 
any heretofore held in our world ; and it is necessary 
briefly to state it, in order that the theory of light, which 
is entirely new, may be understood. 

The theory, if it can properly be called such, that 
electricity is simply motion of the particles of a body, 
requires no notice, as its advocates, so far as I am in- 
formed, have never attempted to apply it to the solution 
of a single phenomenon. Two theories, projoerly such, 
have been advanced to account for the phenomena of 
electricity. One theory assumes the existence of two 
fluids, one vitreous^ ov positive^ the other resinous, or neg- 
ative ; that vitreous repels vitreous, and resinous repels 
resinous, while vitreous and resinous attract each other. 
The other theory assumed the existence of a single fluid ; 
the vitreous, or positive electrical condition of a body 
being due to the fact that it holds an excess, over its 
natural quantity of electricity ; and the resinous, or neg- 
ative state, to the fact that the body is deficient in elec- 
tricity, or holds less than its natural quantity. I believe 
the theory of two fluids has been received with most 



NEW THEORY OF HEAT. 213 

favor ; but so far as my knowledge of electricity ex- 
tends, either theory would equally well account for the 
phenomena. 

This theory assumes that the conditions known as 
positive and negative are owing to excess and deJQciency 
of electricity ; that so far the single-fluid theory is cor- 
rect. But it also assumes that there are almost innu- 
merable varieties of electricity ; that, for example, the 
electricity developed, or set free, by the decomposition 
of bodies, varies with the chemical properties of the 
bodies ; and that electricity, like what is called ponder- 
able matter, undergoes changes by decomposition and 
recomposition. It assigns to electricity a far more im- 
portant position than has heretofore been given it ; af- 
firming that all we know of matter is through elec- 
tricity ; and that if a body, say a stone, could be de- 
prived of electricity, to us it would have no existence ; 
we could neither see it or feel it. These are the only 
new ideas I have to advance regarding electricity ; the 
explanation of most electrical phenomena would be the 
same by this as by the single-fluid theory. 

Heat is simply one form, or state, of electricity. Elec- 
tricity, as I have said, undergoes changes, and one of the 
most important of these changes is into the state known 
as heat. Thus, for example, if the wire attached to a 
galvanic battery has capacity sufficient to convey the 
electricity as rapidly as developed, the electricity will 
pass along the surface of the wire, undergoing no change. 
But if the conducting power of the wire is not sufficient, 
if the electricity becomes crowded upon it, a portion of 
the electricity will undergo a change, passing into the 



214 MODERN DIABOIjISM. 

state known as heat. The idea I have received is, that 
the primary (development in the decomposition and re- 
composition of any body, is electricity, and not heat ; 
but the electricity is instantly converted into heat if it 
becomes crowded, or condensed to a certain degree. In 
other words, it is assumed that the production of heat, 
whether by decomposition, recomposition, or friction, 
is due to the fact that a quantity of electricity is set free 
which is converted into heat. There are many chera- 
ical changes by which bodies become condensed, and 
heat becomes sensible in the same way as if the bodies 
were condensed by physical force ; this is not, strictly 
speaking, 2^^ production of heat Heat is also reconverted 
into electricity, though this change is generally less 
manifest to us. 

The expansion of a body by heat is in consequence 
of the same law that causes two bodies charged with an 
excess of electricity upon the surface to repel each 
other. Heat, to a certain extent, retains this repelling 
property. It would seem, at first, that, such being the 
fact, two heated bodies should repel each other. It is 
assumed that the repelling power of heat is very slight, 
and operates only at an inappreciable distance. 

I do not know that a better explanation of the fact 
that the capacity for heat of a body is increased by ex- 
pansion, can be given than this, namely, that the heat 
is also expanded, and therefore it requires an additional 
amount to bring it to its former state of condensation. 
The expansion and contraction of matter, like matter it- 
self, is, I think, a mystery. The doctrine that in expan- 
sion the ultimate atoms become farther removed from 
each other, appears to me very unsatisfactory. Neither 



NEW THEORY OF HEAT. 215 

do I understand tlie connection between heat and what 
we call matter. But we know that when a body is ex- 
panded, the heat which it contains follows the particles 
of the body, and, therefore, must also be expanded. 

One fact occurs to me which seems to require expla- 
nation. A resinous body, when rubbed upon another, 
say a piece of cloth, loses, according to this theory, elec- 
tricity ; and yet it is a fact that it becomes warmer. It 
does part with electricity ; that is, electricity which re- 
mains such ; but the friction sets free electricity more 
rapidly than it is conveyed away ; a portion, therefore, 
becomes converted into heat, and this penetrates the 
resinous body. 



CHAPTER X. 

A NEW THEORY OF LIGHT. 

Light consists of particles of matter emitted from 
self-luminous bodies, of uniform shape, but possessing 
different chemical and magnetic properties. These 
particles, entering the eye, are absorbed by the retina, 
and, undergoing chemical decomposition, cause currents 
of electricity to flow along the optic nerve to the brain, 
thus excitmg vision; the different colors being due to 
the different chemical properties of the particles. For 
convenience, I will hereafter designate the particles by 
the colors which they produce. 

There exists between these particles and ordinary 
matter an attractive force, varying with the colors of the 
particles. 

There is also a resisting force, varying in different 
bodies for all particles, and in the same body for particles 
of different colors. 

A chemical affinity also exists between the particles 
and most bodies of ordinary matter, varying with the 
colors ; and which, with reference to the latter point, is 
inversely as the resistance to penetration ; that is, if the 
resistance of the body to penetration is greater for the 
red particles than for other colors, then the chemical 
affinity is greater for other colors than for red. 

As the shape of the particles is, in this 
theory, a matter of importance, I give 
^ longitudinal sections perpendicular to 
the longest and shortest diameters, and 
a tran verse section through the middle. 



NEW THEORY OF LIGHT. 217 

These must be considered as only approximately correct. 
If the reader will imagine a cylinder, having hemi- 
spherical ends, partially flattened, the flattening process 
commencing at one extreme end and terminating at the 
other, he will have a sufficiently correct idea of the 
shapa The form is supposed to be due to the fact that 
the particles have been forced through an enveloping 
substance ; a point relative to which T have not at- 
tempted to get a definite idea. In their flight, the axes 
of the particles are parallel to the line of direction. I 
will attempt to apply the theory to the solution of some 
of the most prominent phenomena. 

BefraxAion^ and the prismatic spectrwni. — Here the 
theory does not, I believe, differ from the Newtonian. 
"When a ray of light falls obliquely upon a glass surface, 
the particles which penetrate the glass are, in conse- 
quence of the attractive force, drawn aside irom then* 
former course ; and as this force varies with the color — 
being greatest for violet, least for red, and intermediate 
for the intermediate colors of the spectrum — the refrac- 
tion of each color varies accordingly. If the glass is a 
prism, each color, on leaving the second surface, will 
again be refracted in the same direction and to the same 
extent as by the first surface, and, consequentlv, the 
colors will continue to diverge. If the sides of the glass 
are parallel, each color, on leaving the second surface, 
will be refracted to the same extent as by the first sur- 
face, but in the opposite direction ; consequently, the 
colors proceed from the second surface parallel to each 
other, and the whole ray of light resumes a course 
parallel to its original one. The ray appears white in 



218 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

the latter case, not because the light is recomposed by 
the second surface, as Herschel and Brewster state, but 
because it has not been sufficiently decomposed for the 
eye to distinguish the colors. In order that the eye inay 
distinguish colors, they must strike the retina at points 
sufficiently far apart If a number of fine lines of 
different colors are drawn on a surface close to and par- 
allel to each other, the eifect upon the eye, at a very 
short distance, is the same as if the colors were first 
mixed and then placed upon the surface. A glass, the 
sides of which are not parallel, may be so thin that 
the colors, on leaving it, are less separated than on 
leaving a thicker glass of parallel sides; but in the 
former case the colors continue to diverge, and conse- 
quently strike the retina, more completely separated 
than in the latter case. As, in the case of a glass having 
parallel sides, the colors continue to diverge until they 
leave the second surface, if a ray of light could be passed 
through a glass of sufficient thickness, so that the colors 
would be sufficiently separated on reaching the second 
surface, they would be distinguished ; but in a plate of 
such thickness the ray would be to such an extent 
absorbed and diffused that the efifect could not be 
observed. 

One point it may be proper to explain, though it is 
fully explained in that part of Herschel's Treatise relat- 
ing to the Newtonian theory. When I speak of the 
surfaces of the refracting medium, I mean what to us 
appears to be such. It is not meant that the whole re- 
fraction occurs at a mathematical point ; but when the 
particles of light have entered the medium to an appre- 
ciable distance, the attraction on all sides is equal, and 



NEW THEORY OF LIGHT. 219 

consequently they are no longer drawn aside in any 
direction. The attractive force must be considered with 
reference to each particle of light, aud these are so 
minute that at any appreciable distance the attraction of 
the medium is not felt 

Colors ofhodies. — In a body which appears either white 
cr black, the resistance to penetration is the same for 
all colors, but greater in the former body than in the 
latter. In a body which appears colored, red for ex- 
ample, the resistance to red is greater than to other 
colors. It is not assumed, however, that all the red. 
particles are reflected, or that all those of other colors 
penetrate the body ; but solely that a larger proportion 
of red than of other colors is reflected. The facility of 
penetration, in any case, depends not only upon the 
color of the particle, but also, as in the case of ordinary 
matter, upon the angle at which it strikes the surface 
of the body, and upon the extent of surface which the 
particle presents at the point of contact Thus it may 
occur that, although the resistance of a body to a red 
particle is greater than to a green one, the former will 
penetrate while the latter is reflected. 

The opaqueness of bodies is owing, generally, to the 
fact that the affinity existing between the body and the 
particles which enter it is such that the latter are ab- 
sorbed, undergoing chemical decomposition. In some 
cases, however, such, for example, as a mass of pulverized 
white glass, the opaqueness is owing to the fact that 
there are so many surfaces inclined in all planes, that 
the particles fail to penetrate them. In the case of a 
colored transparent body, say a plate of green glass, a 



220 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

larger proportion of green tlian of other colors is reflected ; 
but, of the particles which penetrate the plate, a larger 
proportion of other colors than of green is absorbed — in 
consequence of the law that the affinity is inversely as 
the resistance — so that the transmitted light also appears 
green. 

Polarization. — This word was, as I understand, origi- 
nally adopted in the Newtonian theory, where it has 
some appropriateness ; it has none in the undnlatory 
theory, or in this, but I mnst continue to use it The 
polarization of light, according to this theory, is in con- 
sequence of the law governing ordinary matter that, 
when several bodies impinge upon another, the resistance 
to penetration by each, other things being equal, varies 
with the form, at the point of contact, of the impinging 
body ; that is, a sharp-pointed body will penetrate more 
readily than a blunt one. If the reader has a correct 
idea of the form of the particles of light, he will under- 
stand that their points have what may be termed flat 
and sharp sides; and that, consequently, when they 
strike a surface obliquely, the power of penetration 
varies with the side brought in contact. 

A ray of light consists of particles whose axes are 
parallel to the line of direction, and whose longest and 
shortest diameters are in all directions perpendicular 
to this line. When a ray falls obliquely upon a plate 
of glass, those particles which strike most favorably for 
penetration, that is, upon their sharp sides, will penetrate 
the glass ; those which strike upon their flat sides will 
be reflected. The reflected ray, then, will consist of 
particles whose corresponding diameters are very nearly 



NEW THEORY OP LIGHT. 221 

in the same plane. If now, a second reflector is placed 
in the same plane with the first, the particles will also 
strike it upon their flat sides, and be again reflected ; if 
the second reflector is so placed as to reflect in the same 
direction as the first, the particles will strike it on the 
same side ; if it is so placed as to reflect in the opposite 
direction, the particles will strike on the opposite side. 
If the second reflector is placed in a plane pei-pendicular 
to the first, the particles will strike on their sharp sides, 
and penetrate it. For convenience, I use the word plane 
here as generally used by writers upon this subject; 
strictly speaking, the reflectors are in neither case in 
the same plana 

Light is more perfectly polarized by reflection at a 
certain angle than at others. For common glass this 
angle is said to be 56° 45'. The explanation of this 
fact is that, as the angle is diminished the reflection of 
all particles becomes facilitated ; when the angle is in- 
creased, the reverse is the fact, but as the particles strike 
more nearly vertical the difference in their power of 
penetration becomes less (when precisely vertical there 
is, of course, no difference), and the consequence, in 
either case, is, that the reflected ray consists of particles 
whose corresponding diameters are less uniformly in the 
same plane. 

Sir David Brewster states, in explanation of certain 
phenomena, that light is reflected by both the first and 
second surfaces of a transparent body. This is not 
possible upon any conceivable theory of light If the 
second surface is not placed in contact with another 
body, there is no second reflection ; if it is so placed, the 
second reflection is not from the second surface of the 



222 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

first body, but from the first surface of tbe second body. 
Sir David applies his theory to the solution of the fol- 
lowing phenomena : 

Let a beam of light fall at an angle between 80° and 
90° upon a plate of glass ; " a portion of it will be 
reflected at its two surfaces, and the refi^acted beam a is 
found to contain a small portion of polarized light. If 
this beam a again falls upon a second plate, No. 2, 
parallel to the first, it wUl suffer two reflections ; and 
the refracted pencil b will contain more polarized light 
than a. In like manner, by transmitting it through the 
plates Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6, the last refracted pencil, &, 
will be found to consist entirely, so far as the eye can 
judge, of polarized light. But, what is very interesting, 
the beam / is not polarized in the plane of refraction 
or reflection, but in a plane at right angles to it." 

There is nothing in the above going to show that 
light was reflected at both surfaces of the plates ; nor 
has Sir David shown any facts which support his view. 
In this experiment the beam of light falls upon the 
plates at a great angle ; in such a case, as I have said, the 
difference in the particles as to the power of penetration 
is slight ; still, as the beam does not fall perpendicu- 
larly, there is, upon the whole, a difference, and the 
beam consequently becomes more and more polarized 
by every Jirst surface upon which it falls. As to the 
fact that the transmitted beam is polarized in a plane at 
right angles to the plane of reflection, that is always 
the case. According to this theory, it is because the 
longest diameters of the particles which penetrate the 
plate are in a plane at right angles to it ; consequently, 
in order that these particles might strike a reflector on 



NEW THEORY OF LIGHT. 223 

their flat sides and be reflected, the reflector would have 
to be placed in a plane at right angles to that in which 
the penetrated plates are, and this is what Sir David 
meant 

For polarization by transmission, a plate of tourynaline 
is generally used. I presume that its resistance to pene- 
tration is greater than that of common glass ; conse- 
quently, a beam of light transmitted through it is more 
perfectly polarized, or sifted, than one transmitted 
through glass. This, however, does not explain one 
fact, namely, that a beam which falls upon a plate of 
tourmaline perpendicularly is polarized by transmission. 
As, for this purpose, the plate must be cut in a certain 
direction from the crystallized mass, it is evident that 
some peculiarity of crystallization is the cause of the 
phenomenon. It is here assumed, that the surface of 
the plate on which the light falls consists of minute sur- 
faces inclined in one plane ; so that although consid- 
ered as a whole, the beam falls perpendicularly upon 
the surface, the particles really fall obliquely upon sur- 
faces. 

Double refraction and polarization. — There are certain 
crystals which have the peculiar property of dividing a 
transmitted beam of light into two rays, and these two 
rays are found at their emergence-to be polai-ized in two 
planes which are at right angles to each other. The 
crystal most used for this experiment is Iceland spar^ 
and the light must be made to pass through it in cer- 
tain directions, with reference to its crystallization. 

Here, again, it is evident that a peculiarity of crystal- 
ization is the cause of the phenomena. It is here as- 



224 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

sumed, that the surface of the crystal upon which the 
light falls consists of minute surfaces inclined in two 
planes which are at right angles to each other. Let us 
first consider the effect of the surfaces inclined in one 
plane. Of the particles which strike these surfaces, 
those whose longest diameters are in a plane at right 
angles to the plane in which the surfaces are inclined 
—in other words, those which strike on their edges — 
will penetrate the crystal ; the others will be reflected. 
Those which penetrate will be refracted. The same 
will occur to those particles which fall upon the sur- 
faces inclined in the opposite plane ; and those which 
penetrate will be refracted in a direction at right angles 
to that in which the former are refracted. The trans- 
mitted light is therefore divided into two rays ; and the 
corresponding diameters of the particles constituting the 
two rays are in two planes which are at right angles to 
each other. 

I think the explanations I have given will enable 
any one who has made the subject a study, to under- 
stand how the theory should be applied in the solution 
of most phenomena. According to this theory, there 
can be no appreciable interference of light ; but I would 
not attempt a definite explanation of Dr. Young's ex- 
periment without further facts. One fact absolutely 
necessary is this : When the light passing on one side 
of the card was shut off from the screen, did the bright 
and dark lines disappear because the dark ones became 
brighter, or because the bright ones became darker ? It 
is a known fact that light passing near the surface of a 
body is attracted, and drawn out of its course ; and the 



NEW THEORY OF LIGHT. 225 

bright central line, in this experiment, can only be ac- 
counted for upon the supposition that the light passing 
upon each side of the card was so far drawn out of its 
original course as to meet upon the screen. Interference, 
supposing it to occur, would not explain why there was 
a bright line where if the card had been wider there 
would have been a shadow. Without hazarding, defi- 
nitely, a theory upon so meagre a statement, I would 
suggest the following as being perhaps the correct ex- 
planation : 

The attractive force of a card upon light passing near 
its surface is of the same nature as that of a plate of 
glass upon light passing through it ; some colors are 
more attracted than others, and, of course, are affected 
by the attractive force at a greater distance. Although 
the slip of card was very thin, its appreciable force upon 
the particles of light — for reasons stated when speaking 
of refraction — was the same as if it had been of greater 
width. Now, I presume that, the slip of card being 
so thin, the particles passing on each side near it, not 
only met, but crossed each other beyond it ; and that 
the lines differing in brightness were due to the fact that 
at certain points on the screen a larger number of par- 
ticles met, or there was a greater concourse, than at 
others ; the amount of light being too small to make the 
colors distinguishable. This explanation assumes that 
the lines disappeared when the light passing on one side 
was intercepted, because the bright lines became darker. 

It will be perceived that these new theories assume 
all our sensations to be of an electrical nature. Tasie 



226 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

and smell, wliicli differ but little, are the results of cliem- 
. ical changes which cause currents of electricity to flow 
through the nerves to the brain. Touch is the result of 
the development by friction of electricity, which is also 
conveyed to the brain. 



CHAPTEE XL 

ON ANOTHER WORLD AND THE CHANGE AT DEATH. 

In speaking of another world, I will, for convenience, 
use the definite article, without intending to imply that 
there is but one world besides our own. And it is my 
intention in this work to say no more about the other 
world than appears to be absolutely necessary in order 
to make the phenomena I have attempted to explain 
understood ; for the truth is, I have not myself a very 
clear conception of it 

It seems to me somewhat strange that, whife most 
writers in treating of matter admit that we are en- 
tirely unable to comprehend it, they yet assume, or 
appear to, that there is no state or condition of matter 
not cognizable by our senses. The other world, like 
our own, is constituted of matter ; that is to say — since 
we do not at all comprehend matter^ — the word is as 
applicable to the other world as to our own. And it is 
not attenuated matter which in other respects is the 
same as that of our world; but matter which in its-most 
condensed form, and in its normal condition, is not in 
any way cognizable by us. In the next chapter I shall 
have occasion to state that this matter may be made per- 
ceptible by our senses of sight and touch ; yet in this 
condition it is no more condensed, or solid, than when 
entirely imperceptible by us. From the information I 



228 MODERN DIABOLISM- 

HOW have, I assume that there may be inimmerable 
other states or conditions of matter not cognizable either 
by us or the inhabitants of this other world. 

The other world is constituted of matter which per- 
meates that of our world ; and it is, in form and dimen- 
sions, the counterpart of our world. The diameters and 
circumferences of each world are the same and coincid- 
ent ; the mountains, oceans, and rivers of our world are 
reproduced in the other. When we build a house, we 
build double ; for the walls, floors, and all parts of the 
building are permeated by the matter of the other world. 
This fact is due to the attractive force which the matter 
of our world exerts upon that of the other. 

The converse, however, is not true ; all the forms of 
the other world have not their counterparts in matter of 
ours ; and for the reason that the attractive force exerted 
by the matter of the other world upon that of ours is 
less than that which the particles of the latter exert upon 
each other. The attractive force may be compared to 
that of capillary attraction ; and while matter of the 
other world suffers this attraction by bodies of our 
world, matter of the latter does not suffer it by bodies 
of the former. For example, the desk at which I am 
writing contains a precise duplicate in the matter of the 
other world. Were I to move this desk, it would carry 
with it the duplicate ; but were the invisible beings with 
me to remove the latter, it would not stir the former ; 
and my desk would immediately be again permeated by 
the, to me, invisible matter. This matter is not entirely 
devoid of gravity ; and yet, compared with solids and 
liquids of our world, it is nearly so. 

It may be a little difficult to understand how such 



DEATH AND ANOTHER WORLD. 229 

matter can be a solid to the inhabitants of tlie other 
world, as the earth is to us ; that is, how they walk and 
live upon the surface of their world, as we do upon that 
of ours. Such, however, I am informed is the fact; 
and, bearing in mind that the bodies of these inhabitants 
are also nearly devoid of gravity. I think a little reflec- 
tion will show that it is not an impossibility. There is, 
Lowever, a difference in the two cases. For example, 
my room constitutes also a room to the invisible beings 
with me : and the invisible floor which permeates mine 
bears their weight. Yet they can pass through this 
floor, or through their walls, ■without much difficulty; 
though in doing so, they would have to make an open- 
ing, as I would to pass through mine. As the matter 
constituting their floor and walls is held in its position 
solely by the attraction of mine, it is not difficult to 
understand that they can pass through either with little 
difficulty ; and that — their bodies being nearly devoid 
of gravity — such a floor may bear their weight. 

It will be understood, from what I have said, that the 
inhabitants of the other world have no more power to 
leave this globe and visit other " spheres " than we have ; 
they are held here by the same laws that hold us. 

My informants decline giving me the details regarding 
death, or our birth into another world ; and I confess 
that I am not anxious to have such information. An 
indefinite statement of the subject, then, as to details, 
must suffice. 

There is no such thing as a spiritual body in man ; 
in this respect, there is no difference between a human 
being and a brute. All animate, as well as inanimate 



230 MODER]^ DIABOLISM. 

matter of our world is permeated by the matter of the 
other. Our bodies and brains, therefore, are permeated 
by the matter of the other world. When the body dies, 
the vital principle, as it has been called — and I can 
think of no better terra — organizes from this matter 
permeating the brain a new body ; and owing to the 
nature of this matter, the development, or growth of the 
new body, is verj'- rapid. 

I admit that this is a very indefinite statement of the 
subject; but I think most persons will agree with me 
that, if it is at all accurate, more definite information is 
not desirable. Aside from the unpleasant nature of the 
subject, there is another reason for Mdthholding definite 
information. The truth is, that the second birth is an 
operation of nature which, like the first, may be, and 
sometimes is, friistrated. There are unavoidable acci- 
dents which prevent the second birth taking place upon 
the death of the present body ; and which, therefore, so 
far as those of the other world have any knowledge, ter- 
minate the individual's existence. Knowledge of the 
details would, therefore, in some cases, give surviving 
relatives and friends of the deceased useless pain. Inter- 
ference with the second birth, except from accidents, 
may be avoided by observing the following simple rule : 
Let tlie corpse be placed in the earth or in a vault, with- 
out mutilation or embalmment, to undergo the ordinary 
processes of nature ; let nothing be done to interfere 
with or obstruct these processes. How far it may be 
prudent, in certain cases where it is desirable to do so, 
to depart from this rule, I cannot undertake to define. 

It would seem that the second birth creates a new 



DEATH AND ANOTHER WORLD. 231 

being ; and why there exists any identity between the 
individual that died and the one that is born, is a great 
mystery. But it is also a mystery, though perhaps not 
so great a one, why an individual retains his identity 
fi-om childhood to old age. T can only state — and this 
T do upon my own knowledge — that those of the other 
world have a veiy distinct recollection of their life in 
ours, and therefore must retain their identity. 

There is here another mystery, or, at least, a fact not 
easily accounted for. As the bodies of brutes are also 
permeated by the matter of the other world, the question 
naturally arises, Why does not a second birth take place 
upon the death of a brute? The mystery of birth is 
unsolved by those of the other world, as by ourselves, 
and therefore I cannot answer this question, A partial 
explanation, however, may be found in the facts that 
the phenomenon is of an electrical nature, and that the 
vital electricity, or nervous fluid of a human being, dif- 
fers from that of a brute. 

It does not follow that because an individual retains 
his identity, or has a consciousness of past existence, on 
entering the other world, he must necessarily possess 
the same characteristics which he had here. There is a 
great change at death ; and in most cases for the worse. 
Owing to some law which I do not fully understand, 
the intellect becomes, in most cases, weaker ; and vicious 
propensities are enormously developed. The develop- 
ment of the propensity for lying is especially marvelous ; 
I am sensible that after all T have said, and may here- 
after say upon this subject, I shall fail to give the reader 
a correct appreciation of it. The fact that so many of 



282 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

the other world lie when there is no inducement for ly- 
ing, can only be accounted for by bearing in mind that 
while this propensity is increased the intellect is en- 
feebled. I am not here writing solely about those be- 
longing to the lowest, or most vicious class in our world ; 
a very large proportion of those belonging to the most 
respectable classes, and who pass for individuals of com- 
mon integrity and sense, will become lying fools on 
passing into the other world. 

This, again, is somewhat of a mystery. It must be 
that a great change occurs at death ; for the males who 
have communicated with me had not, when they first 
visited me, been in the other world long enough to have 
so far changed in character from any conceivable cause 
existing there ; or to have become so enfeebled in in- 
tellect from lack of its proper use. It occurred to me 
that the fact that these men had been so recently born 
into the other world — that they were so young, dating 
from their second birth — might account for their lack 
of wisdom, though hardly for their propensity for lying. 
But on inquiring about this, I am told that they have 
now, probably, about as much wisdom as they ever will 
have ; and the fact that Mrs. S, and Miss M. are still so 
childish seems to confirm this statement. 

Those of the other world have, as compared with 
ourselves, but little physical strength. They have no 
need of such strength as we possess. In the explana- 
tory narrative I have stated that Mrs. S. attempted to 
choke me, but was unable to do so. The latter fact 
was owing to her physical weakness. The effort was, 
as it appeared to me at the time, like that of a child of 



DEATH AND ANOTHER WORLD. 233 

our world. Spiritualists tell of the marvelous feats of 
strength performed by the spirits ; but I have never 
witnessed anything of the kind myself which could not 
have been done by a child of our world ten 3^ears of 
age. It is true, however, that they occasionally perform 
actions requiring considerable physical strength ; but on 
such occasions there are several engaged in the per- 
formance. 

The senses of sight and hearing are the same in those 
of the other world as in ourselves ; and all bodies which 
give light to us, give light also to them. As this seems 
to require an attempt at explanation, the following the- 
ory — and it must be considered as only a theory — has 
been given me : The sun, and all other bodies which 
are visible or luminous to us, are permeated by matter 
resembling that of the world connected with our own ; 
and the particles of light which render objects visible 
to us carry with them a counterpart, or duplicate, in this 
matter. This counterpart is arrested, absorbed, and re- 
flected by matter of the other world, precisely as the 
particle which gives light to us is by matter of our 
world. If, then, in its flight, a particle of light meets a 
body constituted solely of matter of the other world, the 
counterpart is either absorbed or reflected by this body ; 
the particle which gives light to us is not, in any way, 
appreciably affected by it. If the particle first meets a 
body of our world, and is reflected, the counterpart is 
also reflected ; if absorbed, the counterpart may be ab- 
sorbed, and may be reflected ; the matter of the other 
world permeating the body determines this point 

It will be perceived that, according to this theory, all 



234: MODERN" DIABOLISM. 

bodies which are visible to us must be visible to those 
of the other world, provided that no body of their world 
intercepts their light ; but that they cannot perceive the 
colors of bodies of our world, nor whether a body is, to 
us, black or white. Whether the theory of light is cor- 
rect or not, such, I am informed, is the fact. 

The sounds pf our world are, if 'loud enough, audible 
to those of the other ; for a shock communicated to our 
atmosphere produces a shock in theirs. But the minute 
shocks produced by us in speaking, are not reproduced 
in their atmosphere with sufficient distinctness to enable 
them to understand what is said. When we speak with 
sufficient loudness, those of the other world near us hear 
a sound, and that is all ; they do not understand what 
is spoken- This fact partly explains the intense desire 
of many of the other world to be en rajp'port with one 
of this. They see us, mingle with us, yet cannot un- 
derstand what is said ; and have, therefore, but an im- 
perfect knowledge of what is going on in our world ; a 
world much more attractive to them than their own. 

It may, by some, be thought very strange that, if the 
other world is such as I have described, the personations 
and deceptions practiced through mediums are not pre- 
vented by the better class. But those who would be 
disposed to prevent the deceptions if it were possible, 
are so few in number, comparatively speaking, that they 
have not the power to do so. 

In the last chapter of this work I shall give narratives 
written by a well-known gentleman residing in New 
York, of apparitions witnessed by him, purporting, and 
believed by the gentleman, to be the apparitions of his 



DEATH AND ANOTHER WORLD. 235 

deceased wife and Dr. Franklin. It appears to me suf- 
ficiently evident from the gentleman's own narratives 
tuat the apparitions and communications were rather 
weak deceptions ; and that no man of common sense 
should have been deceived by them, Nevertheless, the 
gentleman was, for several years, thus deceived ; and, 
as I am informed, his wife was advised of the fact, and 
would, had it been in her power, have prevented the 
deceptions. But a large number of the other world 
were engaged in these deceptions; and the wife, unas- 
sisted, or with such assistance as she could procure, had 
not the power to prevent them. 

If, of every one hundred pers^s of the other world, 
only one is disposed to prevent such deceptions, while 
ten are disposed to assist in them, it is evident that the 
one cannot prevent the ten from practicing them. Now, 
Mr. W. and the Count are representatives of a class 
which is far from being the lowest one of the other 
wor.ld. They would not, as I am informed, feel any 
interest in such deceptions as those referred to in the 
preceding paragraph, or those practiced through com- 
mon mediums. Yet they would not lend their assist- 
ance in preventing them. They profess to believe that 
the communications through mediums have, upon the 
whole, done more good than harm ; as they have satis- 
fied, beyond all doubt, many, anxious for such assur- 
ance, that death will not terminate their existence. 
But, aside from this, they say that those disposed to 
practice the deceptions are so numerous that it would 
be impossible to prevent them. 

There is one comforting fact connected with this mat- 
ter ; the vicious of the other world have, as compared 



236 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

with those of ours, but little power to injure others. 
This is a subject of which I have only a partial concep- 
tion, and I do not think it necessary to attempt an ex- 
planation. 

"What I have, for convenience, called the other world, 
may more properly be designated as man's second stage 
of existence. The inhabitants of this other world die a 
second time ; and those now living there have no actual 
knowledge of any world beyond, or of any future state 
of existence. If they continue to exist after the second 
death, the second change must, I infer, be greater than 
the first ; for, while a large proportion of the population 
of our world has always believed in the visits of ghosts 
and spirits who manifest their presence — a belief which 
I now assume to have been founded to a certain extent 
on facts — those of this other world have no such belief. 
If the inhabitants of a world beyond theirs visit them, 
they are unable to communicate, or in any way manifest 
their presence. 

Of course, under such circumstances, beliefs regarding 
a future existence vary in the other world, aa in ours ; 
and it would be aside from the scope of this work to 
give mere theories upon such a subject. Inasmuch, 
however, as I have stated that in some cases there is no 
second birth, and that in such a case those of the other 
world have no knowledge of the individual's continued 
existence — from which it might be inferred that they 
believe his existence is terminated — I think it proper to 
state that this is not the universal belief of those of the 
other world. My sister, for example, still believes that 
all human beings are immortal ; and that the souls of 



DEATH AND ANOTHETt WORLD. 237 

those wlio died without the formation of a second body 
continue to exist. In short, I cannot perceive that her 
Views regarding a future, or an eternal existence, have 
ai all changed since she left our world ; except, of course, 
as regards this second life in the body. Her views, I 
am informed, coincide with those of a considerable class 
of her world. 

There is another beli f which, as I have entered upon 
the subject, I will barely state. It is that there is a 
third birth, analogous to the second; and that, as the 
death of the body in our world terminates the existence 
of brutes, so death of the body in the second world 
terminates the existence of the larger proportion of its 
inhabitants ; only the comparatively few fitted for a 
future existence being born into another world. 

The question at once arises, Where is this other 
world? It may be merely another counterpart of our 
own. But according to the view I now have of matter, 
there may be no such thing in the universe as empty 
space ; for, unless I am entirely and deliberately de- 
ceived, what to us appears such, or only occupied by 
the atmosphere, is to other beings more solid than the 
earth upon which we tread. It must be confessed, how- 
ever, that, assuming I have received correct information, 
immortality for any of the human race is not demon- 
strated 

That a birth, such as has been rather vaguely de- 
scribed, should take place upon the death of the body, 
appeared to me, as it will to the reader, a breach in the 
uniformity of the operations of the laws of nature. Upon 
indicating this, I was given a theory which, although it 



238 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

has no direct bearing upon mj subject, I will briefly 
state. It is mainly a deduction from phenomena wit- 
nessed at the death of a human being of our world by 
those of the other ; and I understand it to be the theory 
generally held by those of the other world most compe- 
tent to form one upon the subject. 

The theory is, that the advance in our world from the 
lowest to the highest forms of animal life, or the origin of 
species, has not been by natural, or ordinary generation, 
but by births occurring in a manner analogous to that 
of man into another world. 

It is assumed that owing to the great and successive 
changes which the earth and its atmosphere have under- 
gone, there have been periods in its history when the 
conditions for such births were favorable, and when, as 
now, they were unfavorable ; and that during the favor- 
able periods — that is, favorable in the cases of certain 
species — when an animal died, a birth of a different 
species took place from its body, or, in the case of an 
animal having a brain, from the brain. 

If the account given me of man's birth into another 
world is correct, this theory has, at least, some plausi- 
bility ; and as the theory of light given me exhibits con- 
siderable ingenuity, I presume this would also if the 
details were given. But I have not attempted to get a 
full statement of the theory, as to give it here would 
occupy too much space ; and, besides, it is not within the 
scope of this work. 



CHAPTER XII. 

EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA CALLED SPIRITUAL. 

The phenomena designated by some as spiritual, or 
the performances of spirits, may be divided into two 
classes ; one class being performed by action upon, or 
through, the nervous system of the so-called medium ; 
the other, by using the electricity of the medium to effect 
changes in matter. The former class may be designated 
as mental, the latter as physical phenomena, speaking 
with reference to the beings of the other world. I will 
first notice the former class. 

For the production of the phenomena, there must 
either exist naturally, or be created, a certain degree of 
affinity between an individual of the other world and 
the medium. This affinity, so far as it can be under- 
stood, consists in a certain degree of similarity, or a 
similarity in a certain respect, in the electricity of the 
two individuals. All the sensations received by the 
brain, and all the operations of the will, are of an elec- 
trical nature ; and in order that one of the other world 
may act upon, or control the nervous organization of 
one of ours, there must exist, in a cei^tain respect, an 
affinity in the electricity of the two individuals. By the 
electricity, I mean here what is sometimes called vital 
electricity, sometimes nervous fluid; it is simply one 
form or state of electricity. For convenience, I will 
designate it as vital electricity. 



240 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

The common electricity of the other world differs 
from that of our world ; and the vital electricities of the 
two worlds also differ. The vital electricity of a human 
being differs from that of a lower animal ; and that of 
an intellectual man differs from that of an unintellectual 
man, whether in our world or the other. Now, it is a 
fact which I cannot explain, that the very lowest class 
of the other world, the most unintellectual and stupid 
beings, are the nearest affinities to people of our world. 
An intellectual person of the other world cannot control 
the nervous organization of either an intellectual or un- 
intellectual person of our world ; that is, when the lat- 
ter is in his normal condition. Mediums, as a class, are 
not very intellectual ; but, generally, they are not as 
stupid as the beings who communicate through them. 
I have given of the communications of the Count 
enough to show that he is not excessively intellectual ; 
but in my normal condition he could not communicate 
with me at all ; nor could he with any other person of 
our world ; for this purpose he is too intellectual. This 
explains why all the communications which have been 
received from the other world are so excessively stupid. 

Miss McGauley, who, if in our world, would be con- 
sidered an idiot, and treated as such, is an average spe- 
cimen of those who communicate through mediums. 
When I sat in my room for the purpose of receiving 
communications, she had not sufiicient power to move 
my hand when at rest, and her power to guide it was 
almost imperceptible. Since that time an instrument 
has come into use called Planchette. It is a small tri- 
angular, or heart-shaped board, mounted on wheels and 
carrying a pencil, on which the medium places hi^ hand. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA- 241 

The only purpose this instrument serves is, to enable 
the one of the other world to move more easily the hand 
of the medium — which carries the board with it — than 
when it rests on the paper. The cause for my hand 
moving backward, or from right to left, was, that the 
muscles which move the right ai*m from right to left 
are more powerful than those which move it in the con 
trary direction ; and, at first, the will of Miss McCauley 
had not entire control of the electric currents which 
moved the arm. 

Practice in writing, that is, in the control of my arm, 
increased the rappo7-t of Miss McCauley ; but I should 
probably never have become much of a medium had 
not Mrs. S. visited me. Why the degree of blood-rela- 
tionship existing between us should make Mrs. S. an 
affinity in the respect here indicated, is a mystery; 
especially as neither my mother or sister were able to 
communicate with me in my normal condition. Whether 
if Mrs. S. liad been present when I first sat for commu- 
nications she would have been able to control my arm, 
or not, my informants do not feel certain. But when 
Miss McCauley had placed her to a certain degree en 
rapport^ her power rapidly increased. The increase of 
power was owing to a change in the electricity of each 
of us, by which the two electricities became assimilated. 
It may, to some, seem strange that any change of this kind 
can be produced without inj uring a person's health. But 
when two individuals of our world are closely associated, 
'say a man and his wife, such changes, as I am informed, 
occur without perceptibly injuring the health of either. 
So long as the individual of the other world remains 
with the medium, the latter's health, I think, does not 



242 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

suffer from the mere connection ; though, of course, the 
one of the other world ma j injure the medium; and 
the use of his, or her, electricity for the production of 
physical phenomena is always injurious. But there is 
danger to the one of our world in violently severing the 
connection if it has become very intimate. 

Mrs. S., soon after becoming able to write with facil- 
ity, became able to communicate by simply moving my 
hand as in the act of writing; no legible characters 
being formed. The operation was merely an impres- 
sion produced by her mind on mine, aided by the move- 
ment of my hand as in the act of writing the words. 
Subsequently, when receiving communications by writ- 
ing, I sometimes knew what word would be written as 
soon as it was commenced, sometimes I knew in ad- 
vance what the whole sentence would be ;• at other 
times I had no idea what the word would be until it 
was completed. 

Finally, I became able to hear Mrs. S., and others of 
her world, speak ; and to me the sensation is precisely 
the same as hearing one of our world, except that I am 
unable to distinguish so clearly a difference in the voices 
of different individuals. In fact, I cannot perceive any 
difference in the voices of the several females who have 
conversed with me ; but I can generally, if not always, 
recognize the voice of the Count, the only male of the 
other world who has conversed orally with me. I am 
informed that the phenomenon is not the same as when 
one of our world speaks to me. In the latter case, as I ' 
have said, the sensation of sound is produced by a suc- 
cession of electric shocks conveyed to the brain. When 
one of the other world speaks, the sensation of sound is 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA- 243 

produced by electric shocks, but the discharge is from 
the brain. In order that I may hear one of the other 
world, the rapport must, at the time, be very intimate. 
The minute and rapid movements of the organs of 
speech in speaking, produce corresponding vacuums of 
electricity in the brain of the speaker ; and, the rapport 
being so intimate, these vacuums produce corresponding 
shocks, by discharges, in my brain. But the very mi- 
nute shocks, which determine the quality of sound, are 
not so distinctly experienced as when one of our world 
speaks ; therefore I cannot so clearly distinguish voices. 
It is a very remarkable fact that I never fail to under- 
stand what is spoken ; but this is in a great degree 
owing to the impression produced on my mind by that 
of the speaker. 

As one of the other world, sufficiently en rapport with 
one of ours, may communicate by impression — that is, 
without writing or speaking — so the former may receive 
from the latter communications in the same way. And 
owing to the greater sensitiveness to impression of the 
one of the other world, he may be able to know what 
passes in the mind of one of our world, when the rapport 
is not sufficient to enable him to communicate in any way. 
This cannot be fully explained, for the reason that it is 
utterly impossible to understand the connection of mind 
with matter ; but the primary operation — that which pro- 
duces the mental impression, or conveys the knowledge 
— is of an electrical nature. Visitors to mediums are 
generally requested to write the names of friends from 
whom they wish communications. The operation 
brings the names into distinctness in the mind of the 
visitor, and thus enables, one of the other world with 



244 MODEKN DIABOLISM. 

the medium to read them. Generally, also, it can be 
perceived which of the individuals whose names are 
written the visitor would prefer hearing from ; and some- 
times certain facts, such as the appearance of the indi- 
-vidual, and even an incident connected with him, can be 
learned from the visitor's mind. Of course there is, in 
this respect, a great difference in visitors ; therefore some 
receive satisfactory " tests," while others do not. And 
many who receive the satisfactory tests through me- 
diums are constantly accompanied, without their knowl- 
edge, by one of the other world, who thus has an oppor- 
tunity of learning, at different times, incidents to be 
given as tests of identity. 

Hallucinations of vision are also produced by those 
of the other world ; the mental image being formed in 
the brain, and reproduced, by impression in the brain of 
one of our world ; the latter, perhaps, claiming to be a 
" seer." When a person experiences an ordinary hallu- 
cination, unless deranged, he generally knows that it is 
an hallucination, and nothing more ; but when produced 
by one of the other world, the power which enables the 
latter to produce it enables him also to influence the 
j udgment of the one experiencing the hallucination, and 
to make him believe that he really sees what is pre- 
sented to his mental vision. In explanation of the phe- 
nomena, I will relate two incidents occurring in my own 
experience. 

When my mother first succeeded in identifying her- 
self, one of the written communications, given as tests 
of identity, was partly illegible, and I could not read it. 
I could only make out that she had accidentally broken 
something which she had purchased the same day. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 245 

Now, althougli I had requested that the incidents given 
should not be matters of importance, but trifling ones, 
such as would not be likely to have made any impres- 
sion on my mind at the time, yet I thought it must have 
been something valuable that was broken. After try- 
ing for some time to recollect what it could be, and en- 
deavoring, ineffectually, to have the communication per- 
fected, I saw, apparently two or three feet distant from 
and on a level with my eyes, a familiar teapot, one that 
had been in the possession of our family as long as I 
could recollect. As I now saw it, it was broken ; but I 
knew it was not broken on the day it was bought ; and, 
in fact, I was sure that the last time I saw it — though I 
could not recollect when that was — it was perfectly 
whole. While thinking what connection this could 
have with the communication, I saw another teapot, en- 
tirely different in form and color fi'om the familiar one, 
but broken precisely as the latter appeared ; and I then 
recollected that one evening at tea, such a teapot had 
been broken, when my mother remarked that she had 
purchased it that day. Of course, such a trifling inci- 
dent made no impression on my memory ; but it ap- 
pears to have done so on that of my mother, and as 
I asked for trifling incidents she gave this. Being un- 
able to complete the communication, she endeavored to 
produce an apparition of the teapot; but from some 
cause, although her recollection was perfect, she hap- 
pened at the moment to have the more familiar one in 
her mind. 

Some time after my sister became able, with the aid 
of Mi's. S., to converse orally with me, owing to the fact 
that she was frequently personated by Mrs. S., I became 



246 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

suspicious that she bad not conversed with me at all, 
but had given the incidents which satisfied me of her 
presence to Miss M., who, at that time, I supposed was 
the one assisting, I, therefore, one evening requested 
my sister, if she had actually conversed with me direct, 
to satisfy me of the fact ; and it occurred to me that a 
satisfactory mode would be to produce her appearance 
in dresses which I had forgotten, but which might be 
recalled to my recollection. She then appeared in a 
dress — a figured one — which I thought I perfectly re- 
cognized ; but I was told there was a stripe in it which 
I did not see ; then I saw and recollected the stripe, a 
very narrow one. This shows how clearly she could 
perceive what my perceptions were, and also that mi- 
nute images are not as distinctly reproduced as larger 
ones. While the dress was presented to my view, I saw 
no bonnet, the latter not being in her mind ; but imme- 
diately afterward several bonnets appeared in succes- 
sion on her head, the appearance being as though one 
changed into another. Three thus made their appear- 
ance ; the two first I recognized, the third I did not ; it 
appeared to me to be made of dark silk or satin, but I 
was told it was velvet ; even then, however, I could not 
distinctly recollect it. 

Such, when not merely the product of a disordered 
nervous system, are the visions of " seers ; " though 
some of the seers pretend to have visions when they 
have not even hallucinations. As the matter of the 
other world, whether animate or inanimate, does not 
reflect the light by which objects become visible to us, 
no one of our world can see the other or its inhabitants. 

There are many persons who do not believe in Spir- 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 247 

itualism, and do believe in clairvoyance. But the lat- 
ter is also a delusion ; there is no such faculty in man. 
Many occurrences attributed to clairvoyance should be 
attributed to the agency of beings of the other world. 
I have stated in the introductory narrative that one of 
the invisible beings with me at Trenton went to an- 
other hotel and found a gentleman seated at a small 
desk. She might have ascertained what he was doing, 
and, except as to color, have described with tolerable 
accuracy his dress and appearance. Once at Long 
Branch, to test their accuracy, I requested one of them 
to go and ascertain the number of individuals seated 
where from my position I could not see all of thena. 
On receiving the repoil, I went and counted them, and 
found the number given me to be correct Information 
of this nature can be given by those of the other world ; 
they see ihQ forms of our world; and where the rapport 
is such that the information is conveyed to one of our 
world by impression solely, the latter may honestly be- 
lieve, and may induce othei*s to believe, that he pos- 
sesses an abnormal faculty of perception. But as those 
of the other world cannot distinguish colors of our 
world, it is easy to test this faculty of clairvoyance. 
Place a slip of paper containing either written or printed 
matter — the matter being unknown to any one of our 
world — in an envelope, or where it cannot be read by 
any one of good natural eyesight, and it will be found 
that no clairvoyant or seer can read the paper. 

This connection between one of the other world and 
one of ours, does not differ, except in degree, from what 
is known as mesmerism. And it difiers in degree partly 
because the connection is longer and more constant. 



248 MODiJEISr DIABOLISM. 

One of the other world may be, and often is, with one 
of this constantly for months and even years ; the mes- 
merizer js with his subject occasionally for two or three 
hours, at most, at a time. 

One common phenomenon is, answering letters by 
mediums without opening them. During m.y earlier 
investigations, I sent to a celebrated medium in Boston, 
who devoted his whole time to this business, a letter 
containing two classes of questions. The first class 
could be answered by any one who read the letter ; the 
second class could only be answered by the person to 
whom the letter was addressed. The letter was en- 
closed in two envelopes, the outer one carefully sealed 
with wax stamped with a peculiar seal. No name was 
written on this envelope, the package was simply en- 
closed in a letter addressed to the medium. The pack- 
age was returned, as I know, without having been 
opened, with a letter over the signature of the individ- 
ual to whom mine was addressed, answering the first 
series of questions only ; those questions which the in- 
dividual whose name was signed to the letter could 
have answered, were not noticed at all. 

The simple explanation of the matter is, that one of 
the other world was with me when I wrote the letter, 
and obtained fi'om my mind — not by reading the let- 
ter — a knowledge of the contents ; she, or another one, 
then went to Boston and communicated to the one in 
control of the medium the contents ; the envelope, which 
was duplicated in ■ matter of the other world, having 
been marked so as to be identified when it came before 
the medium. These mediums do not pretend to be able 
to answer all letters sent them ; and if any person, hav- 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 249 

ing accidentally heard of sucli a medium, should at once 
sit down and write a letter, the probability is that it 
would not be answered. But most, if not all, of these 
letters are written by individuals who have visited me- 
diums, or sat in " circles," and thus become interested 
in the subject ; and a large proportion of such individ- 
uals are accompanied by those of the other world. 

The idea entertained by most who are not Spiritual- 
ists, that the medium opens the letters — which is tanta- 
mount to saying that it is impossible so carefully to 
enclose and seal a letter as to prevent it being opened 
without detection — is really about as absurd as any- 
thing in Spiritualism. The truth is, it is not necessary 
that the medium should be given an opportunity to 
open the letter. The writer may carry it to the me- 
dium, and not suifer it to pass out of his sight until 
answered. The answers, as might be expected, are un- 
satisfactory except to credulous persons ; they show 
little more, as a rul«, than the fact that the writer, or 
dictator, has a knowledge of the contents of the letter. 

But it is the second class of phenomena, the physical, 
which has excited the greatest interest ; and, in fact, 
modern Spiritualism owes its rise and rapid spread 
mainly to these startling occurrences. Writing-me- 
diums would, probably, never have been developed 
but for the fact that a belief in the presence of invisible 
beings was created by the physical phenomena. This 
belief formed, individuals were induced — sometimes 
being so directed by the " raps " — to sit and hold their 
hands passively for the " spirits" to write. The devel- 
opment of a writing-medium requires considerable time ; 



250 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

the rapport necessary for the use of the inedmm's elec- 
tricity in the production of physical phenomena can be 
speedily acquired. Seers have existed in all ages ; but 
belief in their visions was nearly extinct when the 
" Eochester knockings," to some extent, revived the 
faith. 

The first thing to be here explained, if such expla- 
nation were possible, would be matter ; but I find that 
my invisible informants know no more about matter, 
solely as such, than we do. But this much, at least, I 
have learned to be a certainty ; namely, that what to us 
is a granite rock, offers no resistance to the passage of 
another individual ; and what to another individual is 
solid substance, may be imperceptible in any way by 
us. One thing further relative to matter I have learned, 
provided, of course, that my informants are not deliber- 
ately deceiving me as to facts within their knowledge ; 
that is, that our only knowledge of it is through the 
agency of electricity. Of course, we have no knowl- 
edge of electricity other than the efiects it produces. 

As the matter of our world, whether living or inani- 
mate, offers no resistance to that of the other in its nor- 
mal condition, living or inanimate, the question arises, 
How can the inhabitants of the other world move a 
body — say a table — of our world ? The matter of the 
two worlds does not differ so greatly as would naturally 
be supposed ; and that of either world is capable of un- 
dergoing changes which assimilate it to the matter of 
the other. The agent which effects this change is elec- 
tricity. 

For the purpose of moving bodies of our world, writ- 
ing without using the hand of a medium, playing on 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 251 

musical instruments, and performing other like phe- 
nomena by one of the other world, a pair of gloves to 
be worn by the latter are subjected to a certain chemical 
process. Now, strange as it may seem, whether one 
body offers resistance to another, or not, depends upon 
the electrical condition of the bodies. In their normal 
electrical condition, a table of our world would offer no 
resistance to the gloves. But the individual who wears 
these gloves is en rapport with one of our world ; the 
electricity of the two has become assimilated, and is 
therefore not precisely the natural electricity of either 
world, but of an intermediate quality. This electricity, 
in passing from the hands of the wearer, penetrates the 
gloves, and, in consequence of the chemical- process to 
which they have been subjected, effects a change in 
them of such a nature that, while the gloves are per- 
meated by the electricity, they resist matter of both 
worlds ; that is, they offer resistance to the hands of the 
wearer and to a table of our world. Tlie table is then 
moved by the wearer of the gloves precisely as we would 
move it with our hands. When a body of any consider- 
able weight is to be lifted, similar covering is prepared 
for the feet, so that the floor will also offer resistance. 

These gloves sometimes become so far changed as to 
reflect the particles of light by which objects are ren- 
dered visible to us ; they are then called " spirit-han Is " 
by the Spiritualists. Sometimes a portion of the arm 
is covered with the prepared material ; and thus the 
singular spectacle is presented of, apparently, a hand 
with a portion of the arm suspended in the air sup- 
ported by nothing. Sometimes — but this is a very rare 
phenomenon — a dress with a mask, are thus changed, 



252 MODEEN" DIABOLISM, 

and made visible to those of our world; and Spiritual- 
ists believe that in sucb cases a spirit is actually seen ; 
though they appear to have no definite idea as to how 
a spirit could make itself visible at one time, when it is 
invisible at another. As the masks would not bear 
critical examination, these figures are always exhibited 
in a very feeble light; a fact, however, which excites 
no suspicion in the minds of Spiritualists. An exhibi- 
tion of this kind is, as I have said, very rare ; it requires 
a very good medium, and considerable care and time in 
the preparation of the dress. I have never witnessed one 
myself, and have read but few accounts of such which 
I considered authentic. 

Of course, for tipping tables, and various other phe- 
nomena, it is not essential that the prepared material 
should be in the form of gloves ; sometimes it is merely 
a covering for the hand like a mitten without a thumb ; 
sometimes the whole hand is not covered : all that is 
necessary is that the material should be interposed be- 
tween the hand and the body to be moved. There is a 
celebrated medium now in New York who, to satisfy 
visitors that writing is performed by the " spirits," puts 
a mere morsel of pencil on a slate and holds the slate 
close against the under side of a table, the slate being 
kept from actual contact with the table by the frame ; 
and in this position conimunications are written on the 
slate. In this case, merely a bit of material, to be 
placed on the tip of t)ne finger, is chemically prepared. 
The one of the other world then reaching through the 
table which offers no resistance to his hand, and placing 
Mmself ea rapport with the medium, writes as one of 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHEJS^OMENA. 253 

our "world might, if the slate was on the top of the table, 
by placing his finger on the morsel of pencil. 

The '' raps " are literally such ; being made with the 
changed material, just as we would make them with 
our fist, or some hard body ; though the material does 
not become visible to us. There is no particular diffi- 
culty in understanding the latter fact, since, theoretically 
at least, glass might be so perfectly transparent as to be 
invisible. But all " tipping-mediums '' will not serve 
for " rapping-mediums ;" for the latter purpose the ma- 
terial must undergo greater change than is necessary for 
the former, 

I think the reader will be able to understand, from 
what I have said, how most phenomena of this class are 
produced. There is, however, one somewhat common 
phenomenon, the method of producing which would 
not, probably, occur to him, and I will therefore explain 
it. I refer to the production of letters and words on 
the person — generally, for convenience of exhibition, on 
the arm — of the medium. 

It will readily be understood, from what I have said, 
how indentations of any form, might be made by those 
of the other world. But to cause names to appear by 
indentations would be difficult without preparing a plate 
for the purpose; and this is impracticable for the rea- 
son that it is not known what name, or names, will be 
wanted until the visitor calls. For this purpose, a plate 
of soft material is cliemically prepared, in which, when 
the visitor calls, the name ascertained to be wanted is 
written with a pointed instrument, the letters formed 
being concave. The plate being then placed on the 
arm of the medium, undergoes through his electricity 



254 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

the ctange described, and being formed of material of 
an attractive or drawing nature— somewbat like a draw- 
ing-plaster — tbe flesh of the arm is forcibly drawn into 
the indentations of the plate, forming on the arm raised 
or convex letters, which are of a purplish tint in conse- 
quence of the blood being unnaturally drawn into the 
convexities. 

For the production of these phenomena, the elec- 
tricity of some individuals is much more serviceable 
than that of others. In all cases, the operation is inju- 
rious to the medium, because it produces an unnatural 
discharge and consequent exhaustion of electricity. 
No person can endure the discharge of electricity re- 
quired for the production of these phenomena for any 
great length of time ; not even when the medium sits 
in a "circle," which, to a certain extent, supplies him 
with electricity. Tine amount of electricity required 
varies with the quality, which also varies in different 
individuals. With a large proportion of men, the 
amount required would be so great that the exhaustion 
would soon cause the death of the individual. 

I have stated that Mrs. S. attempted to choke me by 
creating the so-called "spirit-hands." According to my 
recollection, this was attempted on three successive 
nights, for a short period each night. These compara- 
tively brief operations produced violent palpitation of 
the heart, and partial paralysis of the limbs ; and a con- 
tinuance of the operations would soon have caused my 
death. Of course, therefore, I would be a very poor 
medium for the production of the physical phenomena. 
As I have already said, if there is an appearance of ego- 
tism in these explanations, it is unavoidable. The truth 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 255 

is, that the best mediums for the production of the phys- 
ical phenomena are very unintellectual individuals. 
This is what I am told, and the statement accords with 
my own observations. So far as I have any knowledge 
of these mediums, they are either women, or men low in 
the scale of intellectuality. 

That the one of the other world is able to cause an 
unnatural discharge of electricity from the medium, is 
a fact which may require explanation. This power 
differs only in degree from that possessed by individu- 
als of our world. The simple explanation is, that the 
vital electricity is controlled by the will. It is the will 
which sends the electricity into the muscles which move 
the limbs ; and long-continued efforts of the will pro- 
duce an exhaustion of electricity. Now, those of the 
other world possess this power of directing the electri- 
city by the will to a greater degree than we do. They 
can, for example, when they have the gloves on, cause 
an enormous flow of electricity into their hands, and 
thus produce a corresponding discharge from their hands 
through the gloves. This produces rapid exhaustion 
of electricity ; and as the one of the other world is en 
rapport with the medium, the exhaustion in the former 
produces exhaustion in the latter. For some reason, 
those of the other world do not suffer so much from 
this exhaustion of electricity as those of our world. 

When my mother and sister were endeavoring to 
overcome the power of Miss McCauley, I was repeat- 
edly cautioned not to think of past occurrences, and, 
especially, to avoid thinking of myself The occur- 
rences which I was cautioned to avoid thinking of, 
were such as took place when Miss McCauley was with 



256 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

me, and my motlier and sister were not. It seems that 
the rapport is increased by harmony, or coincidence of 
thought; and these occurrences would be more distinct 
in the mind of Miss McCauley than in that of my 
mother or sister, who had only heard of them, or learned 
of them for the first time by my thinking of them. 
This is all the explanation I am able to give of the first 
caution. 

The second was for a different reason. Self-conscious- 
ness did not increase the rapport of Miss McCauley, but 
it diminished that of my mother and sister. The rap- 
port is due to an interchange of electricity. Now, when 
an individual is thinking of anything outside of him- 
self, there is a constant flow of electricity from the brain. 
When one person is engaged in earnest conversation 
with another, or when one merely fixes his mind in- 
tently on another without speaking, there is a flow of 
electricity from th? former to the latter. But When a 
person's thoughts are concentrated upon himself, or 
turned inwards, the outward flow of electricity is in a 
measure stopped. Self-consciousness on my part there- 
fore broke the connection, or stopped the interchange 
of electricity, between my mother, sister, and myself. 
And this explains the fact that thinking of either of the 
individuals with me, brought him, or her, more inti- 
mately en rapport; there was a more free interchange 
of electricity. 

When Mrs. S., at Trenton, undertook to overcome en- 
tirely the power of Miss McCauley, as she was unwilling 
to give her own name, she told me my father was pres- 
ent, and directed me to think of him. Miss McCauley 
could perceive the image in my mind ; but as Mrs. S. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 257 

had been acquainted with mv father, and Miss McCau- 
ley had not, the thoughts of the former would more 
nearly coincide with my own than those of the latter. 
A gi-eat change could not, however, be effected in so 
short a time ; and therefore the night's operations had 
no very important result I have since wondered, as 
Mrs. S. and Miss M. are not very wise, that they did 
not remove Miss McCauley by force. The explanation 
given me is, that such connections are now so common 
it is understood by almost every one in their world that 
a forcible removal is dangerous to the individual of our 
workL 

By substantially the same process as that through 
which matter of the other world is rendered visible and 
perceptible to the touch of an inhabitant of this, matter 
of our world may be rendered invisible to us, and im- 
perceptible to our touch ; and when a body has been 
thus changed, other matter of our world in its noiTnal 
condition offers no resistance to the body. In this case, 
it is the electricity of the other world which effects the 
change ; tlie only use of the medium being to enable 
those of the other world to handle the body and give it 
the chemical preparation. Some of the phenomena 
occurring in the presence of mediums are explained by 
this fact ; but such phenomena are not so common as 
others, for the obvious reason that it is more difficult 
for those of the other world to prej^are a body of our 
world than one of their own. 

If the explanations given are correct, it is, of course, 
impossible thus to change living matter, either of our 
own or the other world So far as I can recollect, I 



258 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

have never heard or read of an occurrence in the United 
States where it was pretended that a living body was 
carried through solid matter. But some time since I 
read, in the London Spiritual Magazine, an account of 
a woman (a medium) being carried by the " spirits " 
from her own house in London to another, and into a 
room where a " circle " was seated, the openings of the 
room being closed. This was the statement of the 
woman and the belief of the writer of the article ; the 
facts known by the writer were simply, that when the 
room was darkened the woman was not in it, when it 
was again lighted she was standing on a table in the 
room. 

It is unnecessary to explain such performances as the 
above, or all the phenomena reported by Spiritualists as 
occurring in darkened rooms. It would be very strange, 
considering what kind of persons many of the mediums 
are, if there was never any trickery when ample oppor- 
tunity for it is given. But it should be evident, even to 
Spiritualists, that the phenomena must be governed by 
some law, and therefore must be of an uniform character. 
Now, those generally recognized as being the best 
mediums, such as the Fox sisters in this country and Mr. 
Home in England, do not pretend that they are ever 
carried through solid walls. 

- Another performance in darkened rooms never occurs, 
so far as I am informed, when either of these individuals 
is the medium ; namely, speaking by the " spirits," as 
pretended, in audible voices ; that is, voices audible to 
all in the room. Sometimes the " spirits " and mediums 
combine for deception. There are, or have been, public 
mediums who practice speaking through trumpets, pre- 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 259 

tending that the speaking is done by the spirits. As 
the medium's limbs are fastened, and the trumpet is 
placed beyond his reach before the room is darkened, 
and is in the same position when it is again lighted, the 
inference that the speaking was by the spirits is a natural 
one. But the " spirits " merely placed the trumpet to 
the mouth of the medium, and the speaking was by the 
latter. 

Most persons, however, naturally conclude that all 
performances in darkened rooms, and in dark cabinets, 
are merely attempts at deception. The conclusion is a 
natural one, since no sensible reason is given why the 
phenomena only occur in darkness. It is, nevertheless, 
an erroneous conclusion ; but no sensible reason can be 
given why darkness is preferred, except upon the hypoth- 
esis that the performers are not sensible persons. Of 
course, darkness is preferred because the performers 
wish to conceal the mode of operation; but there is 
nothing gained in always concealing entirely the mode 
of operation. 

For example, many of the most startling phenomena 
are produced, as I have stated, by creating what Spirit- 
ualists call " spirit-hands." The so-called spirits volun- 
tarily exhibit these hands, asserting that they are their 
own hands, which they have power to make visible and 
perceptible to the touch of those of our world. This is 
deception, and for that reason practiced ; but that bodies 
of our world are lifted with these hands, whatever they 
are, is fact, and therefore concealed. The gloves are not 
always so far changed that they would be visible to us 
in the light ; but those of the other world cannot always 
determine how far they will be changed, and therefore 



260 MODERN DIABO LISM. 

certain phenomena are generally performed in the dark, 
or under a table. Now, there is nothing gained bj this, 
it is simply stupidity ; for if the gloves were made 
visible, and the phenomena occurred in the light, the 
number of believers in Spiritualism would certainly be 
increased. 

But the stupidity is not confined to those of the other 
world ; Spiritualists, as a class, so far as relates -to this 
subject, are about as stupid. They, or a large proportion 
of them, have seen and felt these so-called hands ; and 
those who have not, believe that they can be produced. 
It would seem that any person of ordinary intelligence 
who believes that these hands can be produced, ought 
to believe that bodies of our world can be moved by 
them ; but it is a remarkable fact that, so far as my 
knowledge extends, not a single Spiritualist believes 
that bodies are thus moved. The cause of this is that 
the "spirits" give other explanations, if explanations 
they can be called. In the chapter on Spiritualism, I 
have given the explanations of Andrew Jackson Davis 
and Prof. Hare ; all that I have heard or read are of the 
same character, equally silly and incoherent. 

Before closing this chapter, I will notice a remarkable 
phenomenon occurring with Mr. Home, the only well- 
authenticated instance of the kind of which I have ever 
heard or read. Mr. Home, as is stated, is frequently 
lifted and carried about his room. There is no difficulty 
in understanding this ; he can be lifted in the same way 
that a table is. But there is this difference in the two 
cases : So many of the other world are, or can become, 
en rapport with Mr. Home, that he can be very nearly 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 261 

deprived, for a short time, of gravity. It is the elec- 
tricity with which a body is permeated that determines 
its gravity ; and those of the other world can so per- 
meate the body of Mr. Home with their electricity that 
he becomes nearly as devoid of gravity as themselves. 

The occurrence to which I refer is this : I have seen 
an apparently well-authenticated account of Mr. Home 
having been, in one instance, carried out of the house 
tlirough one window, and brought in again through an 
adjoining one. Both windows were open ; but as they 
were at a considerable height fi'om the ground, the 
reader may not understand how this could be done if 
the surface of the other world is coincident with that of 
ours. 

In considering these phenomena, it is necessary to 
bear constantly in mind what pains — or what tons would 
be such — these creatures are willing to take in the 
execution of their senseless performances. My inform- 
ants aver that, in this instance, they constructed a plat- 
form on the outside of the building, on a level with, 
and supported by, the floor of Mr. Home's room, and 
extending from one window to the other, upon which, 
he having been nearly deprived of gravity, Mr. Home 
was carried. 

That extraordinary preparations must have been made, 
is evident from the fact that such a phenomenon is very 
rare. This is the only well-authenticated account I have 
ever seen of even the lightest body being raised more 
than a few feet from a surface of our world. But if the 
views of Spiritualists as to the " spirit- world " are correct, 
then certainly, if the " spirits " can lift a man at all, 
they can lift a lighter body to any height 



CHAPTER Xin. 

REVIEW OF NAKRATIVES OF SO-CALLED SPIRITUAL 
MANIFESTATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS. 

In the fifth chapter I have endeavored to give the 
reader some understanding of the theories held by Spir- 
itualists relative to the phenomena which I have under- 
taken to explain. I propose in this chapter to examine 
a variety of narratives of so-called spiritual manifesta- 
tions and communications, that the reader may judge 
for himself whether the theories of Spiritualists, or 
those which I have propounded, best explain the phe- 
nomena. And I shall devote considerable space to this 
purpose, for it is only by a test of this kind that the 
soundness or unsoundness of a theory can be ascer- 
tained. 

I have stated that there is no such faculty as clair- 
voyance. The following, taken from "Wm. Howitt's 
"History of the Supernatural," is a very fair example 
of the experiments made to test this faculty; and is 
given by Mr. Howitt as indisputable proof of its exist- 
ence : 

" A doctor of Antwerp was allowed at a stance to im- 
pose his own tests ; the object of the seance being to de- 
monstrate vision by abnormal means. He said before- 
hand, 'If the somnambulist tells me what is in my 
pocket, I will believe.' The patient having entered 



REVIEW OF NARRATIYES. 263 

into somnambulism, was asked by bim the question, 
*Wbat is in mj pocket?' She immediately replied, 
* A case of lancets.' 'It is true,' said the doctor, some- 
what startled ; ' but the young lady may know that I 
am one of the medical profession, and that I am likely 
to caiTy lancets, and this may be a guess ; but if she 
will tell me the number of the lancets in the case I will 
believe.' The number of lancets was told. The skeptic 
still said, ' I cannot yet believe ; but if the form of the 
case is accurately described, I must yield to conviction.' 
The form of the case was accurately described. ' This 
certainly is very singular,' said the doctor, ' very indeed ; 
but still I cannot believe ; but if the young lady can tell 
me the color of the velvet that lines the case that con- 
tains the lancets, I really must believe.' The question 
being put, the young lady directly said, ' The color is 
dark blue.' The doctor allowed that she was right; 
yet he went away repeating, ' Very curious, yet still I 
cannot believe.'" 

Now, mark the character of the questions and an- 
swers. The doctor must have had several pockets in 
his clothes, and there was probably something in each 
pocket ; at all events, it is not probable that the case of 
lancets was all that they contained. Yet instead of des- 
ignating a particular pocket, he simply asked, " What 
is in my pocket f " And when the young lady replied, 
"A case of lancets," the readiness with which he ac- 
cepted the reply as an answer to his question, shows 
tbat his mind was fixed upon that particular article. 
Again, if the young lady had not read his mind, when 
such a question was put, she would naturally have in- 
quired which pocket was meant And as to the sue- 



264 _ MODERN DIASOLISM.^ 

ceeding questions, it is evident the doctor had the cor- 
rect answers in his mind, from the fact that he did not 
examine the case to ascertain their correctness. The 
anecdote shows that one mind can read another ; and, 
in m J judgment, that is all that it does show. 

Aside from this one anecdote, there is nothing in the 
work of Mr. Howitt suitable for my purpose. The best 
collection of narratives that I have seen, is contained in 
a work by Hon. Robert Dale Owen, enti led, " Footfalls 
on the Boundary of Another World. " * I will, therefore, 
so far as possible, confine myself to a selection of nar- 
ratives from this work. Aside from the convenience 
of selecting from one volume, I have another object in 
doing so, namely, to enable the reader who may be suf- 
ficiently interested in the subject to take the trouble, 
to ascertain whether I do, or do not, select mainly such 
naiTatives as most favor my own views. As the work 
of Mr. Owen has had an extensive circulation, it is well 
adapted for this purpose. I will here state that I shall 
confine my examination mainly to such narratives as 
are considered by Mr. Owen to confirm theories which I 
have stated to be false ; and I design noticing every 
narrative of this kind in the work ; while of such as do 
not seem to conflict with the doctrines I have pro- 
pounded I shall notice a few only, by way of illustra- 
tion. 

It will be readily understood, that owing to the extraor- 
dinary nature of the phenomena under consideration, 
the statements given by individuals witnessing them are 

♦"Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World." By Robert 
Dale Owen. Philadelphia : J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1865. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES 265 

liable to great exaggeration. It appears to be absolutely 
impossible for a large class of individuals to state occur- 
rences of this startling character precisely as they took 
place ; and, unfortunately, a large proportion of the nar- 
ratives bearing upon this subject are given by persons 
of this class. And in so large a collection of narratives 
as this of Mr. Owen — numbering about sixty — it is to be 
expected, remembering the fondness of many persons for 
inventing tales of the supernatural, that some will be en- 
tii-ely fictitious. If, therefore, the theories which I have 
given will explain a large majority of the narratives, it is 
all that can reasonably be expected. And if it shall be 
found that they explain all the well-known phenomena 
which during the past twenty years have been witnessed 
by thousands of individuals on both sides of the Atlantic, 
while the narratives which conflict with these theories 
are of occuiTences of an exceptional nature, and of doubt- 
ful authority, then the correctness of the theories is 
established as far as is possible by a test of this kind. 
Again, as the phenomena must be governed by c rtain 
laws, if I have stated correctly the laws governing a large 
majority of the cases cited, and the exceptional occur- 
rences, stated to have taken place, would conflict with 
these laws, it is a logical deduction that the narrative 
must be wholly false, or partially incorrect. 

The narratives in Mr. Owen's work are classified under 
the following heads: — Dreams; Disturbances popularly 
termed HoMntings ; Apparitions of the Living ; Appari- 
tions of the Dead; Metfibution; and Guardianship. 

First, then, as to dreams : In certain stages of sleep 
the mind is in a more receptive, or impressible condition 
than when the individual is fully awake, and his mind, 



266 MODE'EK DIABOLISSL 

or thinldng faculties, in active exercise. Hence, intabitr 
ants of the other world, who are unable at anj otlier 
time to do so, are sometimes able to communicate im- 
pressions to those of our world when the latter are 
asleep, or partially so. Sometimes, when unable to 
convey ideas, or the impression of words being spoken, 
it is possible to produce an impr^ssional apparition ; and 
this is occasionally done to convey intelligence of the 
death of a relative or friend of the person receiving the 
impression ; it being, of course, as well known in the 
other world as in ours, that most persons, on seeing an 
apparition, conclude that the individual whose " spirit " 
is supposed to be seen, is an inhabitant of the other 
world. These impressional apparitions, conveying in- 
telligence of deaths, haye occasionally been produced 
where the individual never before or afterward experi- 
enced anything of the kind ; and so frequently have 
they occurred immediately after the death of the person 
whose likeness is seen, that it is believed by some that 
individuals, or " spirits," can appear to us immediately 
after their death, but not at any considerable length of 
time afterward. I have myself heard this opinion ex- 
pressed ; and Mr. Owen states that a society was formed 
in the year 1851 by members of Cambridge University, 
England, " for the purpose of instituting, as their printed 
circular* expresses it, 'a serious and earnest inquiry 
into the nature of the phenomena, which are vaguely 
called supernatural.' " And in a note, Mr. Owen states 
that the son of a British peer, who was one of the leading 
members of the society, informed him "that the re- 

• Published in an appendix to Mr. Owen's work. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 267 

searches of the society had resulted in a conviction, 
shared, he believed, by all its members, that there is 
sufficient testimony for the appearance, about the time 
of death or after it, of the apparitions of deceased per- 
sons ; while in regard to other classes of apparitions, the 
evidence, so far as obtaiiied, was deemed too slight to 
prove their reality." 

Yet nothing is really seen in such a case ; nor is the 
apparition, or hallucination, produced by the individual 
deceased, but by some friend or relative in the invisible 
world. And, compared with the number of deaths, 
these apparitions are very rare for several reasons : first, 
it is only occasionally that a friend of the deceased per- 
son is able to produce the apparition ; second, the death 
of the individual is not always known, at the time, by 
his friends in the other world ; and third, there is usually 
no reason for attempting to make the death known in 
this way. 

The principal difference between the views of. Mr. 
Owen and myself in reference to dreams produced by 
those of the other world is, that he thinks some dreams 
indicate the faculty of prevision, others that of clairvoy- 
ance, and still others a faculty which I hardly know 
ho A' to designate otherwise than as omniscience ; while 
T contend that no such faculty as either of these is pos- 
sessed by an inhabitant of either world. 

I consider it unnecessary to notice dreams of a very 
common class, evidently produced by natural appre- 
hension ; such, for example, as that a ship in which a 
friend has sailed, or is about to sail, is lost. As dreams 
of this kind, caused by natural apprehension, are fre- 
quent, it is not strange that occasionally one is fulfilled- 



268 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

If I understand Mr. Owen, he does not claim that such 
occasional coincidences prove the existence of the fac- 
ulty of prevision. In dreams of this class those of the 
other world have usually no agency. 

I also consider it unnecessary to notice dreams indi- 
cating the approaching death of a relative or friend, and 
which are falfilled, where the death occurs from natui^al 
causes. I agree with Mr. Owen, that such dreams are 
frequently produced by those of the other world ; but 
deny that the dream indicates the faculty of prevision, 
A man may be in apparent health, and yet those of the 
other world may perceive a change taking place in his 
system which indicates that he will soon die; this is not 
what is meant by prevision. And those of the other 
world are not infallible in this respect ; but when the 
death does not occur in accordance with the dream, the 
latter is not often narrated, and is supposed to have 
originated from natural causes. 

''The Visit Foretold:' 

This narrative is taken by Mr. Owen from a work on 
Sleep by Macario. I will give the substance : 

Madame Macario and daughter went to the Bourbon 
baths. A cousin of Madame Macario, residing at Mou- 
lins — which, it appears, was the point at which they 
left the railway and took the diligence for the baths — 
dreamed, on the night before they started, that he saw 
them take the railway cars for the baths, and in the 
morning told his wife to prepare to receive them, as 
they would pay them a visit. 

As it was raining when Madame Macario and daugh- 
ter arrived at Moulins, and the cousin lived in a distant 



REVIEW or NARRATIVES. 269 

quarter of the town, thej did not visit him — as I infer 
they intended — but stopped at the house of a friend 
near the railway station. 

The dream, then, was accurate as to what was intended, 
but not as to what actually occurred. The power of 
those of the other world to produce dreams does not 
differ, except in degree, from that of individuals of our 
world. And, like common electricity, vital electricity, 
which causes the dream, will travel to any distance 
provided the conditions for transmission are sufficiently 
favorable. 

I presume that this dream was produced either by 
Madame Macario or her daughter, probably by the for- 
mer. In the night she thought, or dreamed of the in- 
tended journey, and of a visit to the cousin. This pro- 
duced a corresponding impression on the mind of the 
latter, who, it is stated, " habitually dreams of anything 
extraordinary that is to happen to him." Stripped of 
exaggeration, this simply implies that when asleep he 
was very impressible. If he had possessed the "fac- 
ulty of foresight, or prophetic instinct," as Mr. Owen 
terms it, he would have dreamed what actually oc- 
curred. 

" 2 he Indian Mutiny." 

Mr. Owen says that in this dream, " a highly improb- 
able event was foreshadowed with distinctness a year 
before it occurred." 

"Mrs. Torrens, the widow of General Torrens, now 
residing at South Sea, near Portsmouth, about a year 
previous to the Indian mutiny dreamed that she saw 
her daughter, Mrs. Hayes, and that daughter's husband, 



270 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Captain Hayes, attacked by sepoys ; and a frightful, 
murderous struggle ensued, in which Captain Hayes 
was killed." 

Captain Hayes and his wife were at Lucknow during 
the siege of that place, where the former was captured 
by the sepoys and killed. It does not appear that his 
wife was attacked or molested in any way, except that 
she shared in the privations of the siege. 

This dream is called a distinct foreshadowing of the 
great Indian mutiny. I venture to say that if the nar- 
rative was not headed "The Indian Mutiny," most 
readers would see no intimation of that event in the 
dream. Mrs. Torrens dreamed simply that her daughter 
and son-in-law were attacked by a party of sepoys ; this 
has no resemblance to the siege of a city by an army. 
The dream was caused by natural apprehension, and is 
of the same class as where one dreams that a vessel in 
which a Mend has sailed is lost. I have no doubt that 
similar dreams occur frequently to persons in England 
having relatives in India. But if one or a dozen in- 
dividuals in England had, before the event occurred, 
dreamed of a general mutiny in India, the fact would 
be no proof of prophetic instinct, or prevision ; because 
more or less apprehension of such an occurrence has 
always existed. 

" The Negro- Servant^ 
" A lady dreamed that an aged female relative had 
been murdered by a black servant; and the dream 
occurred more than once. She was then so much im- 
pressed by it that she went to the house of the lady to 
whom it related, and prevailed upon a gentleman to 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 271 

watch in an adjoining room during the following night 
About three o'clock in the morning, the gentleman hear- 
ing footsteps on the stairs, left his place of concealment, 
and met the servant cariying up a quantity of coals. 
Being questioned as to where he was going, he replied, 
in a confused and hurried manner, that he, was going to 
mend his mistress's fire, which at three o'clock in the 
morning, in the middle of summer, was evidently im- 
possible; and on further investigation, a strong knife 
was found concealed beneath the coals." 

This narrative is taken from Abercrombie's "Intel- 
lectual Powers," and its accuracy is vouched for by him. 
Mr. Owen, when in Edinburgh, where the occurrences 
took place, in 1858, obtained an additional voucher, 
with the names of the parties — which he gives-«^and the 
following additional facts, namely, that the dreamer did 
not know, until she went to her relative's house after 
the dream, that the latter had a black servant, he having 
been engaged but a short time previous ; and that the 
servant was afterward hung for murder, and confessed 
before his execution that he liad intended to assassinate 
the lady. 

The vouchers for this remarkable dream appear to be 
as perfect as it is possible to produce ; and it would be 
unphilosophical to consider the dream a natural one, 
when the dreamer did not know that her relative had a 
black servant. I assume, then, that this dream was pro- 
duced by some relative or friend of the l<|dy, in the 
other world, who occasionally visited her, or possibly, 
as she was aged, remained most of the time with her; 
and who perceived, being able to read his mind, that the 
servant designed murdering her ; for it is a reasonable 



272 MODEEN DIABOLISar. 

supposition that the servant had contemplated the mur- 
der for some time previous to the night of the discovery. 
This would not indicate that the one of the other world 
had the faculty of prevision, or the power of seeing into 
futuj-ity ; but merely the power of ascertaining a de- 
termination already fonned. 

It will be noticed that " the dream occurred more than 
once." This is not usual in the case of a natural dream ; 
but I can testify from my own expeinence, that it is a 
common occurrence when the dream is produced by one 
of the other world. One of the annoyances which I ex- 
perienced was unpleasant, and sometimes distressing 
dreams produced by Miss McCauley ; and when I awoke 
from such a dream, it was necessary thoroughly to rouse 
myself, 5nd fix my mind upon something else, or it 
would be repeated when I again fell asleep. 

Mr. Owen says : " It is true that, with that inexplicable 
dimness of vision which seems so often to characterize 
similar phenomena, the coming event is indicated only, 
not distinctly foretold. The daughter's dream was that 
her mother had been murdered ; and this had not taken 
place." 

I see nothing inexplicable in the matter. The one 
of the other world was able merely to produce a dream, 
not to communicate a message ; and having in his (or 
her) mind the images of the negro servant and the aged 
lady, with the fact that the former designed murdering 
the latter, *the dream produced would naturally be 
such as occurred. If a person should, in any way, get 
the impression when awake that a certain individual in- 
tended to kill a certain other individual, and this im- 
pression caused him to dream of the subject, the dream 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 273 

would probably be that the event bad occurred, or that 
he witnessed it. We rarely dream that an event is to 
occur in the future. 

'■^Bell and Stephenson.^'' 

" In the year 1768 my father, Matthew Talbot, of 
Castle Talbot, county Wexford, was much surprised at 
the recurrence of a dream three several times during the 
same night, which caused him to repeat the whole cir- 
cumstance to his lady the next morning. He dreamed 
that he had arisen as usual, and descended to his li- 
brary, the morning being hazy. He then seated him- 
self at his secretaire to write ; when, happening to look 
up a lo'ng avenue of trees opposite the window, he per- 
ceived a man in a blue jacket, mounted on a white horse, 
coming toward the house. My father arose and opened 
the window : the man, advancing, presented him with 
a roil of papers, and told him they were invoices of a 
vessel that had been wrecked and had drifted in during 
"the night on his son-in-law's (Lord Mount Morris') 
estate, hard by, and signed ^ Bell and Stephenson.' 

" My father's attention was called to the dream only 
from its frequent recurrence ; but when he found him- 
self seated at his desk on the misty morning, and be- 
held the identical person whom he had seen in his 
dream, in the blue coat, riding on a gray horse, he felt 
surprised, and, opening the window, waited the man's 
approach. He immediately rode up, and drawing from 
his pocket a packet of papers, gave them to my father, 
stating that they were invoices belonging to an Ameri- 
can vessel which had been wrecked and drifted upon 
his lordship's estate ; that there was no person on board 



274 MODERN" DIABOLISM. 

to laj claim to the wreck ; but that the invoices were 
signed ^Stephenson and BelV 

" I assure you, my dear sir, that the above actually 
occurred, and is most faithfully given ; but it is not 
more extraordinary than other examples of the pro- 
phetic powers of the mind or soul during sleep, which 
I have frequently heard related. 

" Yours, most faithfully, 
" William Talbot. 

"Alton Towers, October 23, 1842." 

This nan-ative is taken -from a work by Edward 
Binns, M.D., entitled " The Anatomy of Sleep." It is 
the only narrative in the chapter on dreams which 
clearly indicates the prophetic faculty ; and I admit 
that this, assuming it to be true, can only be explained 
upon such an hypothesis. The only point for examin- 
ation, then, is the authority for the narrative ; and as 
what is alleged to have occurred is of an exceptional 
and extraordinary character, the authority should be 
proportionally strong to warrant belief. On this point 
the last paragraph of the communication has an impor- 
tant bearing, as it evinces excessive credulity in the nar- 
rator. Probably most persons "have frequently heard 
related " stories as extraordinary as the foregoing ; but 
no person of sound judgment believes that he has fre- 
quently heard such that were true. Another thing ; the 
narrative is given seventy-four years after the period at 
which the events are stated to have occurred, and yet 
we are not informed how or when Mr. Talbot heard the 
story. When a man is called upon to testify in a court 
of justice, he is required to state not only what he knows, 
but, also, how he knows ; and the latter is especi ally 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 275 

important wlien seventy-four years have elapsed be- 
tween the occurrence and the testimony. "We have 
then solely, as authority for this narrative, the belief 
of a man who thinks such occurrences not uncommon, 
that the events described did occur seventy-four years 
previous to the time when he gave the statement. 
Hardly sufficient, I think, to establish the existence of 
prophetic powers. " 

In reference to one point Mr. Owen says : — " In the 
above we find the same strange element of slight inac- 
curacy mixed with marvelous coincidence of detail al- 
ready several times noticed. The man with his blue 
coat ; the white or gray horse ; the vessel wrecked on 
Lord Mount Morris' estate ; the roll of invoices pre- 
sented — all exhibit complete correspondence between 
the foreshadowing dream and the actual occurrences. 
The names on the invoices, too, correspond ; but the 
order in which they stand is reversed : in the dream, 
' Bell and Stephenson ; ' on the invoices themselves, 
' Stephenson and Bell.'" 

I have no doubt that the narrator intended to make 
the coincidences appear complete, and that the above 
discrepancy is his ; and it is not the only one. In the 
dream it appears that the vessel had drifted upon the 
estate of Matthew Talbot's son-in-law ; but in the sec- 
ond paragraph, the man who brought the invoices is 
represented as stating, as I understand the sentence, 
that it had drifted upon the estate of Matthew Talbot 
Trifling matters of this kind deserve notice when we 
are examining a narrative of alleged supernatural occur- 
rences ; for the slightest inaccuracy may make wholly 



276 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

inexplicable occurrences which, if the account was cor- 
rectly given, could be easily understood. 

I have stated that this narrative of Mr. Talbot is the 
only one in the chapter on dreams which, if trae, would 
indicate prevision. This is true ; but I find that, in a 
subsequent chapter, Mr. Owen, in noticing the disturb- 
ances in the Fox family — called "knockings" — at 
Hydesville, N. Y., states, that several of the ancestors 
and connections of this family possessed the power of, 
what he here calls, " second-sight ; " and he gives one 
story of a dream, which, if correct, would support the 
assertion. But, as he gives no authority for the anec- 
dote, and has not, as I infer, thought the vouchers suf- 
ficient to authorize it being placed in the proper chap- 
ter, it is unnecessary to notice it ; and I will pass to the 
examination of narratives which Mr. Owen thinks indi- 
cate " farsight or natural clairvoyance." 

The following is taken from Abercrombie's work : — 
" A lady in Edinburgh had sent her watch to be re- 
paired. A long time elapsed without her being able to 
recover it : and, after many excuses, she began to sus- 
pect that something was wrong. She now dreamed 
tliat the watchmaker's boy, by whom the watch was 
sent, had dropped it in the street, and had injured it in 
such a manner that it could not be repaired. She went 
to the master, and, without any allusion to her dream, 
put the question to him directly, when he confessed that 
it was true." 

Upon which Mr. Owen comments as follows : — " In 
this case nothing can be more ridiculous than to imag- 
ine that there was miraculous intervention for the pur- 
pose of informing a lady why her watch was detained 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 277 

at the maker's; yet how extreme the improbability, 
also, that, among the ten thousand possible causes of 
that detention, chance should indicate to her, in a dream, 
the very one, though apparently among the most far- 
fetched and unlikely, that was found exactly to coincide 
with the fact as it occurred ! 

" The attempt is futile to explain away even such a 
simple narrative as the foregoing, unless we impeach 
the good faith of the narrator ; imagining, let us sup- 
pose, that he has willfully concealed some essential at- 
tendant circumstance, as, for instance, that the lady 
whose watch was injured had reason, from information 
obtained, to surmise that the boy might have dropped 
it. But, when Abercrombie vouches for the narrative 
as authentic, his voucher excludes, of course, supposi- 
tions which would deprive the anecdote of all value 
whatever in the connection in which he publishes it." 

Mr. Owen seems to admit, that if the lady had reason 
to surmise that the boy might have dropped the watch, 
the dream was a natural one, and does not substantiate 
the faculty of farsight, or natural claii-voyance. But, 
as will, I presume, be admitted, if the lady surmised the 
same without any particular reason, the dream would 
be equally natural. The question then is, as to the 
probability of the lady having felt apprehension that 
the boy had dropped the watch. 

Now, under the circumstances stated, is this accident, 
" apparently among the most far-fetched and unlikely," 
of " ten thousand possible causes " of the detention ? 
Omitting the thousands^ can the reader think of ten 
probable causes ? But, the inquiry in this case, as to 
what causes would probably occur to the lady, is much 



278 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

narrowed from the fact stated, tliat "slie began to sus- 
pect that something was wrong." What would, she he 
likely to suspect this " something " to be ? It appears 
to uie that her suspicion would naturally be one of these 
two : namely, that the watchmaker had sold or pawned 
the watch ; or, that it had been so injured, either by 
himself or some one in his employ, that it could not 
readily be repaired. . I can, at this moment, think of no 
other suspicion that appears at all likely to have oc- 
curred; and, in fact, I think we may assume the first 
to be rather improbable. That the watchmaker was so 
crowded with business that he neglected this watch, 
would not be what is meant by " something wrong." 

Now, that the boy would drop the watch, was, when 
he took it, an improbable event ; that he had dropped 
it, was, at the time the lady's suspicions were excited, 
much less improbable. The question, however, is not 
as to the chances for or agamst the watch having been 
dropped, but as to the probability of the lady being ap- 
prehensive that the boy had dropped it. I venture to 
say, that nine out of ten ladies, sending their watches 
by a boy, would feel a little (in some cases almost un- 
conscious) apprehension that he might drop it. I am 
frequently conscious of this feeling in myself, even when 
handing a watch, or any delicate instrument, to a gentle- 
man for examination. It appears to me, therefore, that 
there is nothing unreasonable in the supposition that 
this dream occurred from natural apprehension. 

If the reader thinks this explanation unsatisfactory, 
let him consider the possibility of the lady seeing, by 
clairvoyance, the boy drop the watch, not at the time 
of the occurrence, but a long time afterward. I cau 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 279 

imagine that there might be such a faculty as clairvoy- 
ance (clear-seeing) ; and if the lady, in her dream, had 
seen the watch, in the watchmaker's shop, broken, that 
would be an instance of what is meant by the word; 
but I cannot even imagine a faculty by which she could 
see occur an event not taking place at the time. 

I shall not review any more of this class of narra- 
tives, which I think can be explained without resorting 
to the hypothesis of clairvoyance, but will next notice 
those which T think cannot There are two such in the 
chapter, both given by sailors — very doubtful authority 
in such matters. The first is taken from a work of 
which I never before heard, entitled, " Early Years and 
Late Reflections," by C. Carlyon, M.D. 

" The Murder near Wadehridgey 

" On the evening of the 8th of February, 1840, Mr. 
Nevell Norway, a Cornish gentleman, was cruelly mur- 
dered by two brothers of the name of Lightfoot, on his 
way from Bodium to Wadebridge, the place of his resi- 
dence. At that time, his brother, Mr. Edmund Norway, 
was in the command of a merchant vessel, the ' Orient,' 
on her voyage trom Manilla to Cadiz ; and the follow- 
ing is his own account of a dream which he had on the 
night when his brother was murdered : — 

" ' About 7.30 P.M. the island of St Helena KN. W. 
distant about seven miles ; shortened sail and rounded 
to with the ship's head to to the eastward ; at night, set 
the watch and went below ; wrote a letter to my brother, 
Novell Norway. About twenty minutes or a quarter 
before ten o'clock, went to bed ; fell asleep, and dreamt 
I saw two men attack my brother and murder, him. 



280 MODERN" DIABOLISM. 

One caught the horse by the "bridle, and snapped a pis- 
tol twice, but I heard no report ; he then struck him a 
blow, and he fell off the horse. Thej struck him sev- 
eral blows, and dragged him by the shoulders across 
the road and left him. In my dream, there was a house 
on the left-hand side of the road. At four o'clock I was 
called, and went on deck to take charge of the ship. I 
told the second officer, Mr. Henry Wren, that I had had 
a dreadful dream — namely, that my brother Nevell was 
murdered by two men on the road from St. Columb to 
Wadebridge, but that I felt sure it could not be there, 
as the house there would have been on the light-hand 
side of the road ; so that it must have been somewhere 
else. He replied, "Don't think anything about it; 
you west-country people are so superstitious ! You 
will make yourself miserable the remainder of the 
voyage." He then left the general orders and went be- 
low. It was one continued dream from the time I fell 
asleep until I was called at four o'clock in the morning.' " 
The difficulty with this dream is, that it is too minutely 
accurate. It agrees with the facts, as stated, in every 
particular, even the snapping twice of a pistol occurred 
just as represented in the dream. I confess my inabil- 
ity to explain such perfect coincidence in minute partic- 
ulars. As the Captain had been writing to his brother 
before going to bed, it would be no remarkable coinci- 
dence if he happened to dream of him the same night ; 
and under such circumstances — the Captain thinking 
of his brother — if the latter, at the time he was being 
murdered, happened to think of the former, some im- 
pression of the murder might be produced on the mind 
of the Captain. The dream, however, could not be as 



BEVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 28l 

minutely accurate as represented. In fact, two wit- 
nesses, who were on the spot and saw the murder, would 
not be likely to coincide so minutely in their statements. 
It is quite probable that the Captain on that night 
dreamed of his brother, but the acciiracy of the narra- 
tive I must doubt. 

Mr. Owen says : " The precise correspondence between 
the dream and the actual occun-ences is not left to be 
proved by recollections called up weeks oj- months af- 
ter the dream ; for the evidence is an extract taken ver- 
haiim from the ship's log — the record of the "moment, 
when everything was fresh on the memory." 

If this was true, the evidence would be unquestionable ; 
if the Captain asserted that the narrative was an extract 
from the ship's log, without producing the log, the as- 
sertion would be sufficient to prove the story a fiction ; 
for it is not customary to enter dreams in the ship's log. 
But neither Dr. Carlyon or the Captain pretend that the 
narrative is taken from the ship's log. Mr. Owen ap- 
pears to have so inferred from the fact that it is dated 
" Ship Orient from Manilla to Cadiz, February 8, 1840." 
We have, solely, so far as appears from Mr. Owen's ex- 
tracts, the narrative of a sailor, given after he had learned 
the facts of the murder. 

" The Tioo Field-Mice:' 

" On the night of the 17th of February, 1836, Cap- 
tain Clarke, then on board of the schooner referred to,* 
had a dream of so vivid a character that it produced a 

* A schooner frozen up in the Bay of Fundy. It is stated that 
Captain Clarke had not heard of the illness of his grandmother, who 
resided p.t Lyme-Eegis, England. 



282 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

great impression upon him. He dreamed that, being 
at Lyme-Regis, he saw pass before him the funeral of 
his grandmother. He took note of the chief persons who 
composed the procession, observed who were the pall- 
bearers, who were the mourners, and in what order they 
walked, and distinguished who was the officiating pas- 
tor. He joined the procession as it appi-oached the 
churchyard gate, and proceeded with it to the grave. 
He thought (in his dream) that the weather was stormy, 
and the ground wet, as after a heavy rain ; and he no- 
ticed that the wind, being high, blew the pall partly off 
the coffin. The graveyard which they entered, the old 
Protestant one, in the centre of the town, was the same 
in which, as Captain Clarke knew, their family burying 
place was. He perfectly remembered its situation ; but, 
to his surprise, the funeral procession did not proceed 
thither, but to another part of the churchyard, at some 
distance. There (still in his dream) he saw the open 
grave, partially filled with water, as fj-om the rain ; and, 
looking into it, he particularly noticed floating in the 
water two drowned field-mice. Afterward, as he 
thought, he conversed with his mother ; and she told 
him that the morning had been so tempestuous that the 
funeral, originally appointed for ten o'clock, had been 
deferred till four. He remarked, in reply, that it was 
a fortunate circumstance ; for, as he had just arrived in 
time to join the procession, had the funeral taken place 
in the forenoon he could not have attended it at all. 

" This dream made so deep an impression on Captain 
Clarke that in the morning he noted the date of it 
Some time afterward there came the news of his grand- 
mother's death, with the additional particular that she 



REVIEW OP NARRATIVES., 283 

was buried on the same day on which he, being in 
North America, had dreamed of her funeral. 

" When, four years afterward, Captain Clarke visited 
Lyme-Eegis, he found that every particular of his dream 
minutely corresponded with the reality. The pastor, 
the pall-bearers, the mourners, were the same persons 
he had seen. Yet this, we may suppose, he might nat- 
urally have anticipated. But the funeral had been ap- 
pointed for ten o'clock in the morning, and, in conse- 
quence of the temptestuous weather and the heavy rain 
that was falling, it had been delayed until four in the 
afternoon. His mother, who attended the funeral, dis- 
tinctly recollected that the high wind blew the pall 
partially off the coffin. In consequence of a wish ex- 
pressed by the old lady shortly before her death, she 
was buried, not in the burying-place of the family, but 
at another spot, selected by herself; and to this spot 
Captain Clarke, without any indication from the fam- 
ily or otherwise, proceeded at once, as directly as if he 
had been present at the burial. Finally, on comparing 
notes with the old sexton, it appeared that the heavy 
rain of the morning had partially filled the grave, and 
that there were actually found in it two field-mice, 
drowned. This last incident, even if there were no 
other, might suffice to preclude all idea of accidental 
coincidence." 

This narrative was given Mr. Owen by Captain Clarke, 
on board his schooner, lying at the New York docks, 
in July, 1859. 

The objection to this narrative is the same as that 
applied to Captain Norway's, namely, that it is too mi- 
nutely accurate. No one person present at the funeral 



284 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

■would have noticed, and recollected, all the particulars 
named. Again, there is precisely the same difficulty in 
considering it a case of " far-sight," as in the dream of 
the lady about her broken watch. The dream is said 
to have occurred in the night, while the funeral took 
place, in England, at four o'clock in the afternoon — cor- 
responding to an earlier hour at the spot where Captain 
Clarke was ; and, if the story is true, he saw, by " far- 
sight," what was not taking place at the time. I can 
only say that I do not believe the narrative. I shall 
have occasion hereafter to notice a far more wonderful 
and inexplicable story, told by this Captain Clarke ; and 
if the reader is satisfied that it is wholly or mainly an 
invention of the Captain, he should conclude that the 
foregoing narrative is not entitled to belief. 

Mr. Owen believes, in common with Spiritualists gen- 
erally, that there is a spiritual bod^^, and that it can 
leave, temporarily, the natural body during the life of 
the latter. In the chapter on dreams he gives several 
narratives in support of this theory. In my o23inion, 
they are properly placed in this chapter, being simply 
dreams, or what may be called such ; but why, holding 
the views Mr, Owen does, he has placed them here, I do 
not understand, and the reason is unimportant. 

The following is taken firom Abercrombie's work. 
The dream occurred to Joseph Wilkins, at the time 
usher of a school in Devonshire, England, afterward 
dissenting clergyman at Weymouth ; and the narrative 
was written by himself It may be proper to state that 
the titles of these narratives are added, or prefixed, by 
Mr. Owen. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 286 

" The Mother and Sony 

" One night, soon after I was in bed, I fell asleep, and 
dreamed I was going to London. I thought it would 
not be much out of my way to go through Gloucester- 
shire and call upon my fi-iends there. Accordingly, I 
^et out, but remembered nothing that happened by the 
way till I came to my father's house ; when I went to 
the front door and tried to open it, but found it fast 
Tlien I went to the back door, which I opened, and 
went in ; but, finding all the family were in bed, T 
crossed the rooms only, went up-stairs, and entered the 
chamber where my father and mother were in bed. 
As I went by the side of the bed on which my father 
lay, I found him asleep, or thought he was so ; then I 
went to the other side, and, having just turned the foot 
of the bed, I found my mother awake, to whom I said 
these words : — ' Mother, I am going a long journey, and 
am come to bid you good-by.' Upon which she an- 
swered in a fright, ' Oh, dear son, thou art dead ! ' 
With this I awoke, and took no notice of it more than 
a common dream, except that it appeared to me very 
perfect In a few days after, as soon as a letter could 
reach me, I received one by post from my father ; upon 
the receipt of which I was a little surprised, and con- 
cluded something extraordinary must have happened, 
as it was but a short time before I had a letter from my 
friends, and all were well. Upon opening it I was more 
surprised still ; for my father addressed me as though I 
was dead, desiring me, if alive, or whoever s hands the 
letter might fall into, to write immediately ; but if the let- 
ter should find me living, they concluded I should not live 



286 MTODEEN DIABOLISM. 

Jong, and gave this as a reason of tteir fears : That on 
a certain night, naming it, after they were in bed, my 
father asleep and my mother awake, she heard some- 
body try to open the front door ; but, finding it fast, he 
went to the back door, which he opened, came in, and 
came directly through the rooms np-stairs, and she per- 
fectly knew it to be my step ; but I came to her bedside, 
and spoke to her these words : — ' Mother, I am going a 
long journey, and have come to bid you good-by.' Upon 
which she answered me, in a fright, ' Oh, dear son, thou 
art dead ! ' — which were the circumstances and words of 
my dream. But she heard nothing more and saw noth- 
ing more ; neither did I in my dream. Upon this she 
awoke and told my father what had passed ; but he en- 
deavored to appease her, persuading her it was only a 
dream. She insisted it was no dream, for that she was 
as perfectly awake as ever she was, and had not the 
least inclination to sleep since she was in bed. From 
these cii'cumstances I am apt to think it was at the very 
same instant when my dream happened, though the dis- 
tance between us was about one hundred miles; but of 
this I cannot speak positively. This occurred while I 
was at the academy at Ottery, Devon, in the year 1754 ; 
and at this moment every circumstance is fresh upon 
my mind. I have, since, had frequent opportunities of 
talking over the affair with my mother, and the whole 
was as fresh upon her mind as it was upon mine. I 
have often thought that her sensations as to this matter 
were stronger than mine. What may appear strange is, 
that I cannot remember anything remarkable happen- 
ing hereupon. This is only a plain, simple narrative 
of a matter of fact " 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 287 

Whether the mother was really asleep, or not, is im- 
material ; she was lying in bed, her mind in a receptive 
condition ; and. I assume that this is an instance of one 
mind acting upon another at a distance. As I have 
given m a preceding chapter what I consider a correct 
explanation of such phenomena, I will here merely no- 
tice the absurdity of the spiritual-body hypothesis, as 
applied to such a case. 

Upon the latter hypothesis, it is necessaiy to suppose 
that the spiritual body of the son could leave the nat- 
ural body, and the house in which it lay, without diffi- 
culty ; and could travel one hundred, miles in, let us 
say, an instant ; but, when it came to the residence of 
the parents, it could not enter without opening the door, 
and, finding the front door fastened, was obliged to go 
to the back door. Again, on entering the house, it 
walked precisely as the natural body would have done, 
and the tread was so firm that the mother, up-stairs, 
heard and recognized it This being the case, how 
could it travel one hundred miles in, at farthest, a few 
minutes ? Once more, as the spirit was heard to open 
the door and walk across the rooms on entering, why 
was it not heard to do the same on leaving ? And why 
should he leave so suddenly when spoken to by the 
mother, without assuring her that be was not dead ? Pos- 
sibly the reply to the latter question would be, that the 
awakening of the natural body recalled the spiritual 
body. Then it must be assumed that there was some 
kind of a connection existing between the natural and 
spiritual bodies, extending over the distance of one hun- 
dred miles. It strikes me that it is as difficult to un- 
derstand bow this could be as to understand how the- 



288 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

mind of tBe son could influence that of tlie motlier at 
that distance. But what kind of a phenomenon would 
the awaking of the natural body be in such a case, the 
mind being with the spiritual body, one hundred miles 
distant? The spiritual hypothesis, as applied to such 
a phenomenon as that described in this narrative, ap- 
pears to me, in every respect, an utter absurdity. 

I will notice one more narrative of this class, which, 
if true, proves clearly, I think, that one mind can pro- 
duce an impression upon another at a distance of several 
hundred miles. The following, Mr. Owen says, "was 
communicated to me in March, 1859, by Miss A. M. 

H , the talented daughter of a gentleman well 

known in the literary circles of Grreat Britain. I give 
it in her words." 

" One Dream the Counterjpart of Another.^'' 

" "We had a friend, S , who some years ago was in 

a delicate state of health, believed to be consumptive. 
He lived several hundred miles from us, and, although 
our family were intimately acquainted with himself, we 
knew neither his home nor any of his family ; our in- 
tercourse being chiefly by letters, received at inter- 
vals. One night, when there was no special cause for 
my mind reverting to our friend or to his state of health, 
I dreamed that I had to go to the town where he re- 
sided. In my dream I seemed to arrive at a particular 
house, into which I entered, and went straight up-stairs 
into a darkened chamber. There, on his bed, I saw 

S lying as if about to die. I walked up to him ; 

and, not mournfully, but as if filled with hopeful assur- 
ance, I took his hand and said, ' No, you are not going 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 289 

to die. Be comforted : you will live.' Even as I spoke 
I seemed to hear an exquisite strain of music sounding 
through the room. On awaking, so vivid were the im- 
pressions remaining that, unable to shake them off even 
the next day, I communicated them to my mother, and 
then wrote to S , inquiring after his health, but giv- 
ing him no clew to the cause of my anxiety. His reply 
informed us that he had been very ill — indeed, sup- 
posed to be at the point of death — and that my letter, 
which for several days he had been too ill to read, had 
been a great happiness to him, 

" It was three years after this that my mother and I 

met S in London ; and, the conversation turning 

on dreams, I said, ' By the way, I had a singular dream 
about you three years ago, when you were so ill ; ' and 
I related it As I proceeded, I obsei"ved a remarkable 
expression spread over his face ; and when I concluded 
he said, with much emotion, ' This is singular indeed ; 
for I too had, a night or two before your letter arrived, 
a dream the very counterpart of yours, I seemed to 
myself on the point of death, and was taking final leave 
of my brother. " Is there anything," ho said, " I can 
do for you before you die ?" " Yes," I replied, in my 

dream ; " two things. Send for my friend A. M. H . 

I must see her before I depart," "Impossible!" said 
my brother ; " it would be an unheard-of thing : she 
would never come," " She would," I insisted, in my 
dream, and added, " I would also hear my favorite so- 
nata by Beethoven, ere I die," "But these are trifles," 
exclaimed my brother, almost sternly, " Have you no 
desires more earnest at so solemn an hour? " " No : to 
see my friend A. M. and to hear that sonata, that is alll 



290 MODEKIT DIABOLISM. 

wish." And, even as I spoke, in my dream I saw jou 
enter. You walked up to the bed with a cheerful air ; 
and, while the music I had longed for filled the room, 
you spoke to me encouragingly, saying 'I should not 
die.' " 

This narrative will be best understood by reading the 
second part first ; when it will be e^^.dent, that if the 

spiritual body of Miss H visited Mr. S , the 

visit was in consequence of the desire of the latter, im- 
pressed upon her mind. But if this impression could 
be made at the distance named, a dream might be pro- 
duced at the same distance by the mind of Mr. S 

acting upon hers. 

Mr. Owen calls this a phenomenon of " two concur- 
ring and synchronous dreams;" and he uses the word 
dream in speaking of the Wilkins narrative ; but he 
appears to use it as merely implying that the natural 
body was asleep. He will not admit that one mind 
can influence another at such a distance ; and claims— 
quite logically, I think — that such precise coincidences 
cannot be accidental. He says : "In another chapter 
will be adduced such evidence as I have obtained that 
the appearance of a living person at a greater or less dis- 
tance from where that person actually is, and perhaps 
usually where the thoughts or affections of that person 
may be supposed, at the moment, to be concentrated, is 
a phenomenon of not infrequent occurrence. If it be 
admitted, it may furnish the true explanation of the 
"Wilkins dream, the Goffe dream,* and others similar 
in character." 

* This narrative is very similar to that of Mr. Wilkins. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 291 

The chapter here alluded to is that on " Apparitions 
of the Living," which will be noticed in its proper order. 

The narrative of Miss H is not referred to in this 

extract, but I think it will not be disputed that if this 
was an example of synchronous dreams, as the word 
dreams is generally understood, then the cases named 
may be considered as being of the same character. 

Now, is it possible to suppose that the narrative of 

Miss H describes real occurrences, and not dreams ? 

"Was the music real ? If this was an illu^on, then, of 

course, the whole was an illusion. Mr. S wished 

Miss H to come and perform his favorite sonata ; 

but. seems to have had no idea in his mind as to the 
kind of instrument it was to be performed upon. It 
does nox appear, and is not probable, that he had any 

musical instrument in his room. When Miss H 

came, he heard the music, but — an incoherence common 
in dreams — it did not appear to be performed by' her, 
and he had no idea by whom, or on what, it was per- 
formed. The dream of Miss H. was equally vague and 
indefinite on this piint. In short, the two dreams pre- 
cisely corresponded, terminating at the same point : both 

dreamt of the entrance of Miss S into the room, and 

neither of her leaving it The same was the case in the 
Wilkins dream ; and in every well-authenticated in- 
stance of the kind, the dreams coincide too minutely to 
be real occurrences. If a visit was really made by a 
"spirit," and a conversation took place, the recollection 
of the occurrence by the two parties would not be so 
precisely alike, and so entirely confined to the same 
particulars. 

I presume that these synochronous dreams occur 



292 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

mucli more frequently than is generally supposed. Peo- 
ple rarely tell their dreams ; in fact, unless the impres- 
sion is very vivid, they do not recollect them; and it 
may be considered an accidental circumstance that a 
coincidence of the kind becomes known. Three years 

elapsed, it appears, before Miss H and Mr. S 

learned of each other's dream. 

I will now pass to the chapter of Mr. Owen' s work, 
on "Disturbances popularly termed Hauntings." 

If a large portion of the inhabitants of the invisible 
world are such as I have described ; if they can find 
nothing to interest them in the world to which they 
now belong ; then, we can readily imagine that they will 
haunt the scenes of former pleasure, and be drawn to 
certain spots by recollections of events of special inter- 
est which there occurred. 

I contend it is not true, however, that there are now, 
or ever were^ houses in which disturbances of the kind 
alluded to in the chapter under notice could be made 
without the presence of what are now called mediums ; 
that is, without the presence of one of our world whose 
electricity could be used to create the disturbances. 
The point for examination, then, is, whether there is 
any evidence that the invisible beings have power to 
create these disturbances otherwise than in the manner 
I have pointed out. The following narrative conveys 
more nearly than any other in the chapter the popular 
idea of a haunted house, as the building appears to have 
been uninhabited previous to the visit of the parties 
named : 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES: 293 

" The Castle of Slawensihy 

This narrative is too lengthy to copy entire, but I will 
give the substance. 

In the month of November, 1806, Councilor Hahn 
attached to the court of the reigning Prince of Hohen- 
lohe, Neuenstein-Ingelfingen, received orders from the 
prince to proceed to the above castle, situated in Upper 
Silesia, and there await his orders. Hahn was accom- 
panied by Cornet Charles Kern. They both occupied 
the same room in the castle, which was a comer room 
on the first floor, having no opening without except 
the windows. The only residents of the castle at the 
time were Hahn, Kern, Hahu's servant, and two of the 
prince's coachmen. 

" On the third evening after their arrival in the cas- 
tle, the two friends were sitting reading at a table in the 
middle of the room. About nine o'clock their occupa- 
tion was interrupted by the frequent falling of* small 
bits of lime over the room. They examined the ceiling, 
but could perceive no signs of their having fallen thence. 
As they were conversing of this, still larger pieces of 
lime fell around them. This lime was cold to the touch, 
as if detached from an outside wall. 

• " The}'' finally set it down to the account of the old 
walls of the castle, and went to bed and to sleep. The 
next morning they were astonished at the quantity of 
lime that covered the floor, the more so as they could 
not perceive on walls or ceiling the slightest appearance 
of injury. By evening, however, the incident was for- 
gotten, until not only the same phenomenon recurred, 
but bits of lime were thrown about the room, several of 
which struck Hahn. At the same time loud knockings, 



294 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

like the reports of distant artillery, were heard, some- 
times as if on the floor, sometimes as if on the ceiling. 
Again the friends went to bed ; but the loudness of the 
knocks prevented their sleeping. Kern accused Hahn 
of causing the knockings by striking on the boards that 
formed the under portion of his bedstead, and was not 
convinced of the contrary till he had taken the light 
and examined for himself Then Hahn conceived a 
similar suspicion of Kern. The dispute was settled by 
both rising and standing close together, during which 
time the knockings continued as before. Kext evening, 
besides the throwing of lime and the knockings, they 
heard another sound, resembling the distant beating of 
a drum. 

" Thereupon they requested of a lady who had charge 
of the castle, Madame Knittel, the keys of the rooms 
above and below them ; which she immediately sent 
them by her son. Hahn remained in the chamber be- 
low, while Kern and young Knittel went to examine 
the apartment in question. Above they found an empty 
room, below a kitchen. They knocked ; but the sounds 
were entirely different from those that they had heard, 
and which Hahn at that very time continued to hear, 
in the room below. When they returned from their 
search, Hahn said, jestingly, 'The place is haunted.' 
They again went to bed, leaving the candles burning ; 
but things became still more serious, for they distinctly 
heard a sound as if some one with loose slippers on were 
walking across the room ; and this was accompanied 
also with a noise as of a walking-stick on which some 
one was leaning, striking the floor step by step ; the 
person seemmg, as far as one could judge by the sound, 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES.' 295 

to be walking up and down the room. Hahn jested 
at this, Kem laughed, and both went to sleep, still not 
seriously disposed to ascribe these strange phenomena 
to any supernatural sourca 

" Next evening, however, it seemed impossible to 
ascribe the occurrences to any natural cause. The 
agency, whatever it was, began to throw various articles 
about the room — knives, forks, brushes, caps, slippers, 
padlocks, a funnel, snuffers, soap, in short, whatever 
was loose about the apartment. Even candlesticks flew 
about, first from one corner, then from another. If the 
things had been left lying as they fell, the whole room 
would have b:en strewed in utter confusion. At the 
same time there fell, at intei'vals, more lime; but the 
knockings were discontinued. Then the friends called 
up the two coachmen and Hahn's servant, besides 
young Knittel, the watchman of the castle, and others; 
all of whom were witnesses of these disturbances." 

After the disturbances had continued about three 
weeks, Hahn and Kern removed into tlie room imme- 
diately over the one they had been occupying ; but the 
same phenomena followed them to their new apartment. 
The story of the disturbances spread over the neighbor- 
hood, and others visited the castle and witnessed them. 
Finally, the two friends moved into another room — the 
third occupied — when, as it appears, the disturbances 
ceased. 

The narrative is taken by Mr. Owen, from Dr. Ker- 
ner's life of the "Seeress of Prevorst," it having been 
communicated to Dr. Kerner by Hahn, and it is attested 
by the latter, as follows: "I saw and heard everything, 
exactly as here set down ; observing the whole carefully 



296 MODEEisr diabolism. 

and quietly. I experienced no fear whatever; yet I 
am wholly unable to account for the occurrences nar 
rated. 

"Written this 19th of November, 1808. 

"Councilor Hahx." 

Two subsequent letters from Hahn to Dr. Kemer, 
upon the subject, are given by Mr. Owen, the last letter 
being wiitten in the year 1831, and both affirming the 
correctness of the narrative. It is also stated that a 
gentleman of the utmost respectability, residing in 
Stuttgart, visited Slawensik in the year 1880, for the 
purpose of verifying the narrative ; and that, while 
some ridiculed it, the only two men he met with that 
had witnessed the events, confirmed its accuracy in 
every particular. 

" This gentleman further ascertained that the castle 
of Slawensik had been since destroyed; and that, in 
clearing away the ruins, there was found a male skel- 
eton walled in, and without coffin, with the skull split 
open. By the side of this skeleton lay a sword." 

This last story is not very well authenticated. Some 
tragedy may have been enacted in the castle which was 
the cause of its being haunted by former occupants ; 
but it is equally probable that the cause was the latter 
having lived there a life of pleasure. 

No phenomena of the kind — so far as appears from 
the narrative of Hahn, and the report of the gentleman 
who subsequently visited the place — ^were ever wit 
nessed in the castle before or after the visit of Hahn 
and Kern. . In that portion of the narrative which I 
have copied, it is stated that when Kern and young 
Knittel went into the room above, Hahn continued to 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 297 

hear the knockings, but Kern and Knittel heard noth- 
ing. And in a subsequent portion it is stated that 
Hahn witnessed the disturbances when entirely alone 
in the castle. 

" Hahn resolved that he would investigate them se- 
riously. He accordingly, one evening, sat down at his 
writing-table, with two lighted candles before him — 
being so placed that he could observe the whole room, 
and especially all the windows and doors. He was left, 
for a time, entirely alone in the castle — the coachmen 
being in the stables, and Kern having gone out. Yet 
the very same occurrences took place as before ; nay, 
the snuffers, under his very eyes, were raised and 
whirled about." 

It does not appear that the disturbances ever oc- 
curred without the presence of Hahn in the vicinity ; 
and as they occurred in his presence when alone, it is 
evident that he was the instrument employed. 

The disturbances in the residence of the Fox family, 
at Hydesville, N. Y., commenced, like those at Slawen- 
sik, soon after the family had moved into the house. 
Certain members of the family were probably the first 
occupants through whom beings of the other world, 
visiting the house, could cause the disturbances ; as 
Hahn was the first at the castle. The great difference 
in the results of the two cases is owing to the fact that 
a member of the Fox family discovered a mode of com- 
municating with the invisible beings, in consequence of 
which she and her two sisters became known as " me- 
diums," being followed from place to place by these 
beings. Had Hahn made the same discovery, he too 
would, undoubtedly, have been followed in the same 



298 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

way. So far as I liave been able to leara, no disturb- 
ances occurred in the house at Hvdesville after the Fox 
family left it ; and, as I have stated, none occurred in 
the castle after Hahn left it. The two cases are very 
similar, except as to the results following the discovery 
in the one of a mode of communication. 

There is in this narrative an account of an apparition, 
which, I think, tends to confirm my statement that 
they are mostly impressional, or hallucinations. One 
evening, when the disturbances were taking place, 
" Kern, half undressed, paced the room in deep thought. 
Suddenly he stopped before a mirror, into which he 
chanced to look. After gazing upon it for some ten 
minutes, he began to tremble, turned deadly pale, and 
moved away. Hahn, thinking that he had been sud- 
denly taken ill from the cold, hastened to him and 
threw a cloak over his shoulders. Then Kern, natu- 
rally a fearless man, took courage, and related to his 
friend, though still with quivering lips, that he had 
seen in the mirror the appearance of a female figure, in 
white, looking at him, and apparently before him, for 
he could see the reflection of himself behind it. It was 
some time before he could persuade himself that he 
really saw this figure ; and for that reason he remained 
so long before the glass. Willingly would he have be- 
lieved that it was a mere trick of his imagination ; but 
as the figure looked at him full in the face, and he 
could perceive its eyes move, a shudder passed over 
him, and he turned away. Hahn instantly went to the 
mirror and called upon the image to show itself to him ; 
but, though he remained a quarter of an hour before it, 
and often repeated his invocation, he saw nothing. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. , 299 

Kern told him that the figure exhibited old but not 
disagreeable features, very pale but tranquil looking ; 
and that its head was covered with white drapery, so 
that the face only appeared." 

As Kern saw the reflection of himself behind what 
appeared to him the reflection of a female figure, and 
the latter appeared to be looking at him, it is evident 
that it was a case . of hallucination ; for, in. the first 
place, if there had been any one between him and the 
mirror, he could not have seen the reflection of that 
person, looking at him '* full in the face ; " and, in the 
second place, as the image of an object reflected from a 
plane miiTor is rather less distinct than the object 
viewed directly, if there had been any person between 
him and the mirror, he would have seen that person 
more distinctly than the reflected" image ; while the fact 
is, that as soon as he ceased looking into the mirror he 
lost sight of the image. 

But, assuming this and similar narratives to be mainly 
correct, it can be easily understood how the popular 
belief as to haunted houses has originated. Disturb- 
ances of the kind here described are witnessed in a cer- 
tain house, when an individual whose electricity can be 
used for the purpose happens to be in it ; the report of 
the strange phenomena spreads in the neighborhood, 
and others visiting the house, who have heard the siory, 
hear noises which they do not understand, and there- 
fore imagine to be produced by the same invisible 
cause ; some, perhaps, excited by what they have heard, 
and thinking there must be a "ghost" in the house, 
fancy, as Kern did, that they see one; and thus the 
house acquires its bad reputation. The popular belief 



300 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

is correct on tlie main point; the error consisting in 
supposing that the invisible beings have power, of them- 
selves, to create such disturbances ; when, in fact, the 
presence of a " medium " of ou»^ world is always ne- 
cessary. 

In some of the remaining narratives given by Mr. 
Owen in the chapter under notice, the medium is plainly 
indicated ; in others, this indication is not so clear, from 
the fact that several members of the family in which 
the disturbances occurred were always present at the 
time they were taking place. As narratives of the lat 
ter kind do not conflict with the theory I have ad- 
vanced, it is unnecessary to notice them. But in some 
there is, as might be expected, considerable exaggera- 
tion, allowance for which must be made. The follow- 
ing, taken from a work by Mackay, on " Popular Delu- 
sions," will show the necessity for making such allow 
ance when examining narratives of such phenomena • 

" The Farm-House of Baldarroch.''^ 

" On the 5th of December, 1838, the inmates of the 
farm-house of Baldarroch, in the district of Banchory, 
Aberdeenshire (Scotland), were alarmed by observing a 
great number of sticks, pebble stones, and clods of earth 
flying about their yard and premises. They endeav- 
ored, but in vain, to discover who was the delinquent, 
and, the shower of stones continuing for five days in 
succession, they came at last to the conclusion that the 
devil and his imps were alone the cause of it. The ru- 
mor soon spread all over that part of the country, and 
hundreds of persons came from far and near to witness 



REVIEW OP NARRATIVES. 301 

the antics of the devils of Baldarroch. After the fifth 
day, the showers of clods and stones ceased on the out- 
side of the premises, and the scene shifted to the inte- 
rior. Spoons, knives, plates, mustard-pots, rolling-pins, 
and flat-irons, appeared suddenly endued with the power 
of self-motion, and were whirled from room to room, 
and rattled down the chimneys, in a manner nobody 
could account for. The lid of a mustard-pot was put 
into a cupboard by a servant-girl, in the presence of 
scores of people, and in a few minutes afterward came 
bouncing down the chimney, to the consternation of 
everybody. There was also a tremendous knocking at 
the doors and on the roof, and pieces of stick and peb- 
ble stones rattled against the windows and broke them. 
The whole neighborhood was a scene of alarm ; and 
not only the vulgar, but persons of education, respect- 
able farmers within a circle of twenty miles, expressed 
their belief in the supernatural character of these 
events." 

If the narrative terminated here, it would be one of 
the most difficult of explanation, consistently with the 
theory given in this work, that I have seen, appearing 
to be as well authenticated. But Mackay's account 
closes as follows : 

"After a fortnight's continuance of the noises, the 
whole trick was discovered. The two servant-lasses 
were strictly examined, and then committed to prison. 
It appeared that they were alone at the bottom of the 
whole affair, and that the extraordinary alai-m and cre- 
dulity of their master and mistress in the first instance, 
and of the neighbors and country people afterward, 
made their task comparatively easy. A little common 



802 MODERN" DIABOLISM. 

dexterity was all they had used ; and, being themselves 
unsuspected, they swelled the alarm by the wonderfal 
stories they invented. It was they who loosened the 
bricks in the chimneys and placed the dishes in such a 
manner on the shelves that they fell on the slightest 
motion." 

Mr. Owen remarks : " The proof that the girls were 
the authors of all the mischief appears to have rested on 
the fact that ' no sooner were they secured in the county 
gaol than the noises ceased ; ' and thus, says Mackay, 
' most people were convinced that human agency alone 
had worked all the wonder.' Others, however, he ad- 
mits, still held out in their first belief, and were entirely 
dissatisfied with the explanation, as indeed they very 
well might be, if we are to trust to the details given by 
Mackay himself of these disturbances." 

If either of the servant-girls was the medium through 
whom the disturbances were produced by invisible 
beings, of coarse the disturbances would cease when 
both girls were removed. But what I wish to show by 
this narrative is, the tendency in most persons toward 
exaggeration, when giving an account of such occur- 
rences ; whether really caused by invisible beings, or 
only supposed to be, makes no difference. As these 
disturbances ceased when the girls were removed, it is 
evident that they could only have occurred in their vi- 
cinity ; and consequently the account must be highly 
exaggerated. Assuming that invisible beings had no 
agency in the matter, the girls could not have performed 
what is described without immediate detection, if, in- 
deed, they could have performed it at all. They might 
loosen bricks in the chimney, and place dishes so that 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 803 

they would fall easily ; but that is not even an approach 
to an explanation of the phenomena described in the 
first part of the narrative. Now, supposing that in this 
case the girls had not been removed from the house, 
then there would have been, founded upon these disturb- 
ances, an apparently welhauthenticated account of oc- 
currences totally inexplicable upon any other hypothe- 
sis than that they were caused by invisible beings, and 
that, too, without the intervention of a " medium " of 
our world ; while, as it is, the naiTative confirms, in- 
stead of conflicting with, the theory I have given. 

There is one (and only one) narrative in Mr, Owen's 
work in which, if true, it appears that disturbances in 
our world were caused by invisible beings without the 
presence of a medium. The narrative is quite lengthy, 
but I will give a pretty full synopsis, with the author- 
ity, and the reader can judge as to its credibility. 

" The Cemetery of Ahrenshurgy 

" In the immediate vicinity of Ahrensburg, the only 
town in the island of Oesel,* is the public cemetery. 
Tastefully laid out and carefully kept, planted with 
trees and partly surrounded by a grove dotted with 
evergreens, it is a favorite promenade of the inhabit- 
ants. Besides its tombs, — in every variety, from the 
humblest to the most elaborate — it contains several pri- 
vate chapels, each the burying-place of some family of 
distinction. Underneath each of these is a vault, paved 
with wood, to which the descent is by a stairway from 
inside the chapel and closed by a door. The coffins of 

* In the Baltic. 



304: MODERN DIABOLISM. 

the members of the family more recently deceased nsu- 
ally remain for a time in the chapel. They are after- 
ward transferred to the vaults, and there placed side by 
side, elevated on iron bars. These coffins it is the cus- 
tom to make of massive oak, very heavy and strongly 
put together, 

" The public highway passes in front of the cemetery, 
and at a short distance therefrom. Conspicuous, and to 
be seen by the traveler as he rides by, are three chapels, 
facing the highway. Of these the most spacious, 
adorned with pillars in front, is that belonging to the 
family of Buxhoewden, of patrician descent, and origin- 
ally from the city of Bremen, It has been their place 
of interment for several generations." 

It was in this chapel, which previously had the repu- 
tation of being haunted, that the disturbances are stated 
to have taken place. Country people visiting the ceme- 
tery were in the habit of fastening their horses immedi- 
ately in front of, and close to this chapel. 

On the 22d of June, in the year 1844, a woman vis- 
ited the cemetery, and fastened her horse, as usual, in 
front of the chapel. While kneeling in prayer by the 
grave of her mother, situated behind the chapel, she 
had an indistinct perception, as she afterward remem- 
bered, of hearing noises in the direction of the chapel. 
On returning to her horse, after completing her prayers, 
she found it covered with sweat and foam, its limbs 
trembling, and apparently in mortal terror. It was 
scarcely able to walk, and she was obliged to call a 
veterinary surgeon. He said the horse mast have been 
excessively terrified from some cause ; bled it, adminis- 
tered a remedy, and it recovered. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 305 

The following Sundaj several persons, who had fast- 
ened their horses in front of the chapel, reported that 
they found them in a somewhat similar condition ; and 
some of them stated that they heard, seeming to pro- 
ceed from the vaults of the chapel, rumbling sounds 
which occasionally assumed the character of groans. 

" And this was but the prelude to furtlier disturb- 
ances, gradually increasing in frequency. One day in 
the course of the next month (July) it happened that 
eleven horses were fastened close to the columns of the 
chapel. Some persons, passing near by, and hearing, 
as they alleged, loud noises, as if issuing from beneath 
the building, raised the alarm ; and when the owners"' 
reacted the spot they found the poor animals in a pitia- 
ble condition. Several of them, in their frantic efforts 
to escape, had thrown themselves on the ground, and 
lay struggling there ; others were scarcely able to walk 
or stand ; and all were violently affected, so that it be- 
came necessary immediately to resort to bleeding and 
other means of relief In the case of three or four of 
them these means proved unavailing. They died within 
a day or two. 

" This was serious. And it was the cause of a formal 
complaint being made by some of the sufferers to the 
Consistory — a court holding its sittings at Ahrensburg 
and having charge of ecclesiastical affairs. 

" About the same time, a member of the Buxhoewden 
family died. At his funeral, during the reading in the 
chapel of the service for the dead, what seemed groans 
and other strange noises were heard from beneath, to 
the great terror of some of the assistants, the servants 
especially. The horses attached to the hearse and to 



806 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

the mouming-coaelies were sensibly affected, but not so 
violently as some of the others had been. After the in- 
terment, three or four of those who had been present, 
bolder than their neighbors, descended to the vault. 
While there they heard nothing; but they found, to 
their infinite surprise, that of the numerous coffins which 
had been deposited there in due order side by side, al- 
most all had been displaced and lay in a confused pile. 
They sought in vain for any cause that might account 
for this. The doors were always kept carefully fast- 
ened, and the locks showed no signs of having been 
tampered with. The coffins were replaced in due or- 
der." 

The excitement increasing, and renewed complaints 
reaching the Consistory, an inquiry was proposed, which 
the family at first objected to. But the Baron de Grul- 
denstubbe, president of the Consistory, having visited 
the vault in company with two members of the family, 
and found the coffins again in the same disorder — which 
were again replaced — an official investigation was as- 
sented to. 

"The persons charged with this investigation wer? 
the Baron de Guldenstubbe, as president, and the bishop 
of the province, as vice-president, of the Consistory ; 
two other members of the same body; a physician, 
named Luce ; and, on the part of the magistracy of the 
town, the burgomaster, named Schmidt, one of the syn- 
dics, and a secretary. 

" They pi'oceeded, in a body, to institute a careful 
examination of the vault. All the coffins there depos- 
ited, with the exception of three, were found this time 
as before, displaced. Of the three coffins forming the 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 807 

exception, one contained the remains of a grandmother 
of the then representative of the family, who had died 
about five years previous ; and the two others were of 
young children. The grandmother had been, in life, 
revered almost as a saint, for her great piety and con- 
stant deeds of charity and benevolence." 

The commission found, on examination, that nothing 
had been carried off: the ornaments of the coffins were 
found untouched, and the articles of jewelry, which had 
been buried with the corpses, remained in the coffins. 
They had the pavement of the vault taken up, and the 
foundations of the chapel examined, to ascertain if there 
was any subterranean entrance, but found none. The 
coffins were replaced, and ashes strewed over the pave- 
ment of the vault, the stairs leading down to it from the 
chapel, and the floor of the chapel. Both doors, the 
inner and the outer, after being carefully locked, were 
doubly sealed ; first with the official seal of the Con- 
sistory, then with that bearing the arms of the city. 
Finally, guards, selected from the garrison of the town, 
were set for three days and nights to watch the build- 
ing and prevent any one from approaching it. 

" At the end of that time the commission of inquiry 
returned to ascertain the result. Both doors were found 
securely locked and the seals inviolate. They entered. 
The coating of ashes still presented a smooth, unbroken 
surface. Neither in the chapel nor on the stairway 
leading to the vault was there the trace of a footstep 
of man or animal. The vault was sufficiently lighted 
from the chapel to make every object distinctly visible. 
They descended. With beating hearts, they gazed on 
the spectacle before them. Not only was every coffin, 



808 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

witii tlie same three exceptions as before, displaced, and 
the whole scattered in confusion over the place, but many 
of them, weighty as they were, had been set on end, so 
that the head of the corpse' was downward. Nor was 
even this all. The lid of one cof&n had been partially 
forced open, and there projected the shriveled right arm 
of the corpse it contained, showing beyond the elbow ; 
the lower arm being turned up toward the ceiling of 
the vault ! " 

No trace of footstep was discovered in the vault, and 
this time, as before, the commission found that nothing 
had been carried off. 

" They approached, witb some trepidation, the cof&n 
from one side of which the arm projected ; and, with a 
shudder, they recognized it as that in which had been 
placed the remains of a member of the Buxhoewden 
family who had committed suicide. The matter had • 
been hushed up at the time, through the influence of 
tke family, and the self-destroyer had been buried with 
the usual ceremonies ; but the fact transpired, and was 
known all over the island, that he was found with his 
throat cut and the bloody razor still grasped in his right 
hand — the same hand that was now thrust forth to hu- 
man view from under the cof&n lid ; a ghastly memo- 
rial, it seemed, of the rash deed which had ushered the 
unhappy man, uncalled, into another world ! " 

The commission, it is stated, made an of&cial report, 
which is to be found in the archives of the Consistory. 

" It remains to be stated that, as the disturbances 
continued for several months after this investigation, 
the family, in order to get rid of the annoyance, resolved 
to try the effect of burying the coffins. This they did, 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 809 

covering tliem up, to a considerable deptli, witli earth. 
The expedient succeeded. From that time forth no 
noises were heard to proceed from the chapel ; horses 
could be fastened with impunity before it ; and the in- 
habitants, recovering from their alarm, frequented with 
their children, as usual, their favorite resort" 

This narrative was given Mr. Owen, in the year 1859, 
by Mademoiselle de Guldenstubbe, daughter of the baron 
refeiTed to. According to the narrative, these remark- 
able disturbances do not appear to have depended upon 
the presence in the vicinity of any particular person or 
persons. And it must be admitted that the authority 
for the story seems, on first view, very strong ; as the 
narrator was the daughter of a baron, and, as is stated, 
" was residing in her father's house at the time, and was 
cognizant of each minute particular." Here again, then, 
but for an accidental circumstance, would have been an 
apparently well-authenticated account, going to disprove 
the theory I have given. 

In the copy of Mr. Owen's work which I have, I find, 
on page 345, the following : 

" Note to tenth thousand. — In the first editions of 
this work, another narrative, bearing upon the habitual 
appearance of a living person, was here given. It is 
now replaced by that of the 'Two Sisters,' for the fol- 
lowing reasons : A friend of one of the parties con- 
cerned, having made inquiries regarding the story, 
kindly furnished me with the result ; and the evidence 
thus adduced tended to invalidate essential portions of 
it. A recent visit to Europe enabled me to make fur- 
ther inquiries in the matter ; and though, in some re- 
spects, these were confirmatory, yet I learned that a con- 



810 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

siderable portion of the narrative in question, -viiftiicli had 
been represented to me as directly attested, was in real- 
ity sustained only by second-hand evidence. This cir- 
cumstance, taken in connection with the conflicting 
statements above referred to, places the story outside 
the rule of authentication to which in these pages T 
have endeavored scrupulously to conform ; and I there- 
fore omit it altogether. " 

On examining a copy of the first edition of the work, 
I find the narrative above referred to is one entitled, 
" Why a Livonian School-teacher lost her Situation ; " 
which was given Mr. Owen by this Mile, de Gulden- 
stubbe. It is as wonderful, and, had it remained in 
the work, would have been as inexplicable a story as 
this of the chapel. The narrator stated that she was an 
inmate of the school in which the events took place at 
the time of their occurrence ; and professed to describe 
what she had herself witnessed. That narrative, there- 
fore, was more likely to be correct than this of the ceme- 
tery. It appears that some friend of the school-teacher, 
having seen Mr. Owen's work, took the trouble to ad- 
vise him of the incorrectness of the story relative to 
that lady. Whether he became satisfied that the story 
was incorrect, or only that the narrator had not seen 
what she professed to have witnessed, does not matter ; 
as he thought proper to omit the story for one or both 
of these reasons, he should, at the same time, have with- 
drawn this story of the chapel also, given him by the 
same individual. 

It appears from Mr. Owen's remarks, that the narra- 
tive relative to the school-teacher had some foundation ; 
and it is altogether probable that this of the chapel had 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 311 

also. In reference to one point, Mr. Owen says : "Fi- 
nally, if these disturbances are to be ascribed to trickery, 
why should the tricksters have discontinued their per- 
secution as soon as the coffins were put under ground? 
This last difficulty, however, exists equally in case we 
adopt the spiritual hypothesis. If to interference from 
another world these phenomena were due, why should 
that interference have ceased from the moment the cof- 
fins were buried ? " 

The last sentence shows what unlimited power Mr. 
Owen supposes the "spirits" to possess. Whether the 
invisible beings operate, in similar cases, in the way I 
have described, or not, it does not follow as a necessajv 
consequence, that if they have power to move coffins 
placed in a vault, they must have power to do the same 
when the coffins are buried in the earth. 

Let us suppose that these coffins were disturbed by 
invisible beings, in the manner I have explained, when 
some one whose electricity could be used for the pur- 
pose happened to be in the chapel, and that the only 
noises heard were caused by the moving of the coffins ; 
then, evidently, these disturbances must cease when the 
coffins were buried to the depth of several feet in the 
earth. I do not, however, wish this to be considered 
as an attempt to explain the narrative ; for, after read- 
ing the story of the school-teacher, I should consider an 
attempt to explain a story told by this narrator a hope- 
less task. 

In a fictitious narrative there is generally something 
by which its character may be detected. In this case 
we have the unaccountable terror of men and horses, 
and the death from fright of three or four of the latter. 



812 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Now, animals cannot distinguish between noises made 
bj "sj)irits," and those originating from any other cause. 
Some horses are easily frightened by unusual noises ; 
and it is possible there may have been instances of 
horses dying from such a cause ; but I am quite certain 
that no one ever knew of three or four horses dying at 
the same time from fright. Such an instance, I venture 
to say, was never known. And the story appears still 
more incredible from the fact that there appears to have 
been no cause for excessive fright. The woman, kneel- 
ing behind the chapel, scarcely heard the noises ; while 
her horse, fastened outside of the cemetery, was, as rep- 
resented, frightened almost to death. Notice, also, the 
description of the terror of men and horses at the 
funeral. And, after the services, it was only a few, 
"bolder than their neighbors," that dared descend to 
the vault. Now, this is the only narrative in the chap- 
ter in which it is represented that the spectators of the 
occurrences experienced such terror ; and in several 
cases children were present. When the well-known 
occurrences in the Fox family at Hydesville took place, 
two members of the family, in the house, were girls of 
nine and twelve years of age ; yet it does not appear 
that these girls, or any of the family, felt any alarm. 
Almost, if not quite as well known is the account of 
disturbances in the family of which the celebrated John 
Wesley was a member ; from which it appears that the 
family regarded the occurrences simply as an annoy- 
ance, not as a terror. And the same may be said of the 
account given by Mr. Owen of disturbances in the 
family of a Mr. Mompesson, in which there were also 
children. 



REVIEW OP NARRATIVES. 313 

The story under consideration has not the appearance 
of a statement of actual occurrences. The terror of men 
and animals ; the exemption of the coffins of the saintly 
grandmother and the two children from molestation ; 
the suicidal hand that had held the bloody razor raised 
toward the ceiling — such things occur only in fictions. 

Finally, as to this branch of the subject, the fact that 
these physical manifestations, as they are called, have, 
within the past few years, been witnessed by thousands, 
— who never elsewhere witnessed anything of the kind — 
in the presence of ceiiain individuals known as medi- 
ums^ is very strong, if not convincing proof that they 
occur only in the vicinity of such individuals. 

The next two chapters of Mr. Owen's work are on 
" Apparitions of the Living," and " Apparitions of the 
Dead." 

My views upon this branch of the subject will, I have 
no doubt, be altogether unsatisfactory to Spiritualists, 
while most of my readers will, probably, require no 
argument to be convinced that the apparitions de- 
scribed were mostly hallucination-. The only diffi- 
culty with the latter class will be, to convince them 
that the apparitions are ever anything but hallucina- 
tions or impositions. The phenomena of apparitions 
are the most difficult of satisfactory treatment of any 
that I shall have occasion to notice. On the one hand, 
instances of apparitions, other than hallucinations, are, 
for the reasons given in a preceding chapter, extremely 
rare. But, on the other hand, when individuals of in- 
tegrity state positively that they have seen " spirits " 
as distinctly as they ever saw anything, how can such 



814 -MODEElSr DIABOLISM. 

statements be disproved ? The great difficulty in the 
case is, as I assume, that the statements are exagger- 
ated. I do not assume, or admit, that it is impossible 
for an indiAddual, in a sound state of health, to dis- 
criminate between hallucinations and actual vision. 
A man of discrimination, when he experiences a hal- 
lucination, perceives that it is such, and, if he thinks 
the fact worth mentioning, will state the occurrence as 
an instance of the kind ; while a female, experiencing 
the same, will state in the most positive terms that she 
actually saw the object. I shall only attempt to show 
that the supposition of a " spirit " being seen in the 
cases here cited is an absurdity ; that the apparitions 
occurred at a time or place favorable for hallucinations ; 
and — ^which ought to be to Spiritualists a convincing 
fact — that, in the case cited from another work, where 
an apparition was unquestionably seen and felt^ it re- 
quired months to produce it. 

The following extract from the chapter on appari- 
tions of the dead will show that Mr. Owen considers 
apparitions of the living, and of the dead, to be of the 
same character ; and that the evidence for the one is as 
strong as that for the other; hence, it may be assumed 
that if the former doctrine is an absurdity, there is no 
satisfactory evidence for the latter : 

" If,. as St. Paul teaches and Swedenborgians believe, 
there go to make np the personality of man a natural 
body and a spiritual body ; if these co-exist while 
earthly life endures, in each one of us ; if, as the apos- 
tle further intimates and the preceding chapter seems 
to prove, the. spiritual body-— a counterpart, it would 
seem, to human sight, of the natufal body-^may> dur* 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 315 

ing life, occasionally detach itself, to some extent or 
other and for a time, from the material flesh and blood 
which for a few years it pervades in intimate associa- 
tion ; and if death be but the issuing forth of the spirit- 
ual body from its temporary associate ; then, at the mo- 
ment of its exit, it is that spiritual body which through 
life may have been occasionally and partially detaclied 
from the natural body, and which at last is thus entirely 
and forever divorced from it, that passes into another 
state of existence. 

" But if that spiritual body, while still connected 
with its earthly associate, could, under certain circum- 
stances, appear distinct and distant from the natural 
body, and perceptible to human vision, if not to human 
touch, what strong presumption is there against the sup- 
position that after its final emancipation the same spir- 
itual body may still at times show itself to man ?" 

I should say, that, granting the premises, there could 
be no presumption of the kind. It appears to me very 
strange, however, that Spiritualists quote St. Paul in 
support of their theories. If there is anything clearly 
taught by the writings of Paul, it must be conceded 
that he taught the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
body, as generally understood by Christians ; and if, as 
Spiritualists believe, he was mistaken on that point, he 
was liable to be mistaken as to the existence of a spirit- 
ual body. 

In reference to illusions and hallucinations, Mr. Owen 
makes the following remarks : 

"An illusion, unlike a hallucination, has a foundation 
in reality. We actually see or hear something, which 
we mistake for something else. The mirage of the Des- 



816 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

ert, the Fata Morgana of tbe Mediterranean, are well- 
known examples. . . . There are collective illusions ; 
for it is evident that the same false appearance which 
deceives the senses of one man is not unlikely to deceive 
those of others alsa . . . Bat I know of no well-authen- 
ticated instance of collective hallucinations. No two 
patients that I ever heard of imagined the presence of 
the same cat or dog at the same moment. 

" This is a distinction of much practical importance. 
If two persons perceive at the same time the same phe- 
nomenon, we maj conclude that that phenomenon is an 
objective reality — has, in some phase or other, actual 
existence." 

The distinction between illusions and hallucinations 
is neither so broad, or, as bearing upon this subject, so 
important, as Mr. Owen appears to think. As he cites 
Mrs. Catherine Crowe's "Night Side of Nature," I will 
copy from that work two narratives, in illustration of 
this point : 

" During the Seven Years' War in Q-ermany, a drover 
lost his life in a drunken squabble on the high road. 
For some time there was a sort of rude tombstone, with 
a cross on it, to mark the spot where his body was in- 
terred ; but this has long fallen, and a mile-stone now 
fills its place. Nevertheless, it continues to be com- 
monly asserted by the country people, and also by va- 
rious travelers, that they have been deluded in that spot 
by seeing, as they imagine, herds of beasts, which on in- 
vestigation prove to be merely visionary. Of course, 
many people look upon this as a superstition ; but a 
very singular confirmation of the story occurred in the 
year 1826, when two gentlemen and two ladies were 



REVIEW ■ OF NARRATIVES. 317 

passing the spot in a post carriage. One of these was a 
clergyman, and none of them had ever heard of the phe- 
nomenon said to be attached to the place. They had 
been discussing the prospects of the minister, who was 
on his way to a vicarage to which he had just been ap- 
pointed, when they saw a large flock of sheep, which 
stretched quite across the road, and was accompanied 
by a shepherd and a long-haired black dog. As to 
meet cattle on that road was nothing uncommon, and 
indeed they had met several droves in the course of the 
day, no remark was made at the moment, till suddenly 
each looked at the other and said, ' What is become of 
the sheep ? ' Quite perplexed at their sudden disap- 
pearance, they called to the postilion to stop, and all 
got out, in order to mount a little elevation and look 
around, but still unable to discover them, they now be- 
thought themselves of asking the postilion where they 
were ; when, to their infinite surprise, they learnt that 
he had not seen them. Upon this, they bade him 
quicken his pace, that they might overtake a carriage 
that had passed them shortly before, and inquire if that 
party had seen the sheep ; but they had not." 

" About the year 1750, a visionary army was seen in 
the neighborhood of Inverness by a respectable farmer 
of Glenary and his son. The number of troops was 
very great, and they had not the slightest doubt that 
they were otherwise than substantial forms of flesh and 
blood. They counted at least sixteen pairs of columns, 
and had abundance of time to observe every particular. 
The front ranks marched seven abreast, and were accom- 
panied by a good many women and children, who were 
carrying tin cans and other implements of cookery. 



818 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

The men were clothed in red, and their arms shone 
briglitly in the sun. In the midst of them was an ani- 
mal, a deer, or a hcrse, they could not distinguish which, 
that they were driving furiously foi-ward with their bayo- 
nets. The younger of the two men observed to the 
other, that every now and then the rear ranks were 
obliged to run to overtake the van ; and the elder one, 
who had been a soldier, remarked that that was always 
the case, and recommended him, if he ever served, to 
try and march in the front. There was only one 
mounted officer ; he rode a gray dragoon horse, and wore 
a gold-laced hat, and blue Hussar cloak, with wide open 
sleeves lined with red. The two spectators observed 
him so particularly, that they said afterward they 
should recognize him anywhere. They were, however, 
afraid of being ill-treated, or forced to go along with 
the troops, whom they concluded had come Irom Ire- 
land, and landed at Kyntyre ; and while they were 
climbing over a dyke to get out of their way, the whole 
thing vanished." 

It is a peculiarity of Mrs. Crowe that she seldom 
gives her authority for the narrative ; but these have 
the appearance of being genuine. Whether they are 
correct or not, there are well-authenticated instances of 
similar occurrences. Let us assume, then, that these 
are substantially correct: that the accounts are exag- 
gerated is altogether probable. 

In the first case, four persons think they see, at the 
same time, a flock of sheep, a shepherd, and a black 
dog, neither of which have existence. I presume the 
ground taken by Mr. Owen would be, that there was 
some "objective reality" which caused the illusion. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES.' 819 

Let this be admitted, for such was probably tlie fact 
The most probable hypothesis that occurs to me is, that 
clouds, seen through the small window of the carrio.ge^ in a 
hilly country, in connection with impressions left on 
the minds of the party of flocks they had actually 
passed, were the exciting cause. Still, their illusions 
would not have so completely coincided unless the 
minds of the party had, to some extent, operated upon 
each other. Let it be admitted that they did not all 
think, at the time, that they saw the shepherd and dog, 
and that it was only after subsequent conversation they 
imagined their perceptions corresponded so minutely ; 
even then, the occurrence cannot be explained except 
upon the hypothesis of one mind influencing another. 
The party had been for some time in the same carriage, 
engaged in conversation, and had, probably, become 
more or less en rapport. 

In the second case, it may be presumed that the 
father and. son were, to some extent, e» rapport; and 
an image of what the former had, probably, actually 
witnessed, having been a soldier, being from some 
cause produced in his mind, was, by his influence, 
. aided by the original cause, reproduced in the mind of 
the son. Whether the visions were or were not as vivid 
as representad, is not materiaL 

But it does not matter how these delusions were 
caused ; nor whether they are called illusions or hallu- 
cinations. All I wish to show is, that several persons, 
at the same time, think they see the same object, when 
there is nothing at all resembling the object within their 
range of vision. 

In reference to the position taken, that there can be 



320 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

no collective hallucinations, Mr. Owen says : " The re- 
sults of what have been usually called electro-biological 
experiments cannot with any propriety be adduced in 
confutation of this position. The biologized patient 
knowingly and voluntarily subjects himself to an arti- 
ficial influence, of which the temporary efiect is to pro- 
duce false sensations ; just as the eater of hasheesh, or 
the chewer of opium, conjures up the phantasmagoria 
of a partial insanity, or the confirmed drunkard exposes 
himself to the terrible delusions of delirium tremens. 
But all these sufferers know, when the fit has passed, 
that there was nothing of reality in the imaginations 
that overcame them." 

There is no parallel in the cases cited. The delu- 
sions of -several persons, under the efi'ects, at the same 
time, of either of the drugs named, would not coincide. 
And the biologized patient is not given anything, either 
to eat or drink, in order that the haUucinations may be 
produced ; he simply assumes a passive state of mind ; 
and the effect is produced, solely, by the will of the 
operator acting upon his own will. The results of such 
experiments prove that, under favorable conditions, the 
will of one person can produce, at the same time, in 
the minds of half a dozen others, coinciding hallucina- 
tions. The phenomena of electro-biology, mesmerism, 
and the involuntary action of one mind upon another, 
are all of the same character. 

The biologized patients know, when the experiments 
are over, that there was nothing of reality in what they 
thought they saw, because they are told, in the first 
place, the nature of the experiments. But let us sup- 
pose that— having never learned the nature of the ex- 



EEVIEW OF NARRATIVES. ' 321 

periments — they are told that the operator can open 
their "interior perception," or "spiritual vision," so that 
they will be able to perceive sjoirits, and things invisible 
to them in their normal condition : can any one doubt 
that some of them, at least, would continue in the belief, 
after the conclusion of the experiments, that they had 
really perceived the objects? 

Mr. Owen maintains that, while the fact that two or 
more persons perceive at the same ti.ue the same object 
is evidence that it is not a case of hallucination, it does 
not follow that if only one person among many present 
perceives — or thinks he does — an object, it is a halluci- 
nation. 

" There is nothing, then, absurd or illogical in the 
supposition that some persons may have true percep- 
tions of which we are unconscious. We may not be 
able to comprehend hoiv they receive these; but our 
ignorance of the mode of action does not disprove the 
reality of the effect I know an English gentleman 
who, if a cat had been secreted in a room where he was, 
invariably and infallibly detected her presence. Hoio 
he perceived this, except by a general feeling of un- 
easiness, he could never explain ; yet the fact was cer- 
tain." 

Admitting the fact to be certain, it does not support 
Mr. Owen's position. The gentleman did not see the 
cat, nor even think he saw it. He could not describe 
its appearance : could not even tell whether it was white 
or black. The cat produced in him a " feeling of unea- 
siness ; " that was all. A dog can detect the presence 
of an animal without seeing it. But how do such ex- 
amples prove that there are individuals who can see spir- 



822 MODERlSr DIABOLISM. 

its ? for that is the point in dispute. If it was only con- 
tended that there were individuals who were sensible 
of the presence of what are called spirits, when others 
are not, the point would not be disputed by me, for that 
is my belief What I assert is, that no one of our world 
can see (or perceive, if the latter word is preferred) the 
form and color of beings of the invisible world. 

I will now copy, from the two chapters upon this 
branch of the subject, a few narratives which Mr. Owen 
thinks confirm his views. 

1 '■'■ Apparition in Ireland^ 

In the summer of 1802, a clergyman of the Estab- 
lished Church, living in Ireland, was invited by the 
bishop to dinner. He accepted the invitation, leaving 
his wife, quite unwell, at home. Eeturning from the 
bishop's about ten o'clock, the clergyman approached 
his own residence through the garden attached to it. 

" It was bright moonlight. On issuing from a small 
belt of shrubbery into a garden walk, he perceived, as 
he thought, in another walk, parallel to that in which 
he was, and not more than ten or twelve feet from him, 
the figure of his wife, in her usual dress. Exceedingly 
astonished, he crossed over and confi-onted her. It was 
his wife. At least, he distinguished her features, in the 
clear moonlight, as plainly as he- had ever done in his 
life. ' What are you doing here ? ' he asked. She did 
not reply, but receded from him, turning to the right, 
toward a kitchen- garden that lay on one side of the 
house. In it there were several rows of peas, staked 
and well grown, so as to shelter any person passing be- 
hind them. The figure passed round one end of these. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES.' 32S 

-^j-. followed quickly, in increased astonisLment, 

mingled with, alarm ; but when he reached the open 
space beyond the peas the figure was nowhere to be 
seen. As there was no spot where, in so short a time, 
it could have sought concealment, the husband con- ' 
eluded that it was an apparition, and not his wife, that 
he had seen. He returned to the front door and, in- 
stead of availing himself of his pass-key as usual, he 
rung the bell. While on the steps, bef re the bell was 
answered, looking round, he saw the same figure at the 
corner of the housa When the servant opened the 
door, he asked him how his mistress was. ' I am sorry 
to say, sir,' answered the man, ' she is not so well. Dr. 

Osborne has been sent for.' Mr. hurried up-stairs, 

found his wife in bed and much worse, attended by the 
nurse, who had not left her all the evening. From that 
time she gradually sank, and within twelve hours there- 
after expired." 

This was communicated to Mr. Owen by a son of the 
clergyman, in the year 1859. 

Now, whi(ih is the most probable— admitting the ex- 
istence 'of a spiritual body— that the whole was a hal- 
lucination, or, that the spirit of the wife, m her usual 
dress, was dodging around the peas, and the corner of 
the house, while the wife in bed ivas not aware that her 
spirit was absent ? I think that an unusual quantity of 
wine drank at the bishop's dinner will account for this 
apparition, and also for the fact that the clergyman did 
not avail himself of his pass-key, as usual 

" Sight and Sound," 
" During the winter of 1839-40, Dr. J E 



824 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

was residing with his aunt, Mrs. L , in a house on 

Fourteenth street, near New York avenue, in the city 
of Washington. Ascending one day from the basement 
of the house to the parlor, he saw his aunt descending 
the stairs. He stepped back to let her pass, which she 
did, close to him, but without speaking. He instantly 
ascended the stairs and entered the parlor, where he 
found his aunt sitting quietly by the side of the fire. 
The distance from where he first saw the figure to the 
spot where his aunt was actually sitting was between 
thirty and forty feet. The figure seemed dressed ex- 
actly as his aunt was ; and he distinctly heard the rus- 
tle of her dress as she passed.'' 

" The above was related to me by Dr. E him- 
self, in "Washington, on the 5th of July, 1859 ; and the 
MS. was submitted to him for revision." 

In this case, Mr. Owen says, "if it be one of halluci- 
nation, two senses were deceived." 

There is nothing more natural, or common, than that 
a hallucination of sight should produce a hallucination 
of hearing. If Dr. E thought he saw his aunt de- 
scending the stairs, he would be quite likely to think 
that he heard the rustle of her dress. 

Look at the absurdity of the spiritual hypothesis : 

The spiritual body of Mrs. L is supposed to leave 

lier natural body, and to procure a dress exactly like 
that worn by the natural body, and so substantial that 

its rustle can be heard ; and yet, the Mrs. L sitting 

by the fire knows nothing of the transaction. For 
the time being, then, there must have been two Mrs, 
L s. 

In defining hallucinations, Mr. Owen says : " I knew 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 825 

well a lady who, more than once, distinctly saw feet 
ascending stairs before her. Yet neither her physician 
nor she herself ever regarded this apparent marvel in 
other light than as an optical vagary dependent on her 
state of health." 

This he considers an instance of hallucination, be- 
cause the lady so considered it. But where is the dif- 
ference between this case, and those of Dr. E and 

the clergyman ? The only difference, as I have before 
remarked, in all such cases is, that one person has the 
sense to perceive that it is a hallucination, and another 
has not. I consider it unnecessary to notice any more 
narratives precisely resembling these two. 

^^ Apparition of the Living^ seen by Mother and Daughter.^'' 

" In the month of May and in the year 1840, Dr. 

D , a noted physician of Washington, was residing 

with his wife and his daughter Sarah (now Mrs. B ^ 

at their country-seat, near Piney Point, in Virginia, a 
fashionable pleasure-resort during the summer mouths. 
One afternoon, about five o'clock, the two ladies were 
walking out in a copse- wood not far from their resi- 
dence ; when, at a distance on the road, coming toward 

them, they saw a gentleman. ' Sally,' said Mrs. D , 

'there comes your father to meet us.' 'I think not,' 
the daughter replied ; ' that cannot be papa : it is not 
so tall as he.' As he neared them, the daughter's 
opinion was confirmed. They perceived that it was 

not Dr. D , but a Mr. Thompson, a gentleman with 

whom they were well acquainted, and who was at that 
time, though they then knew it not, a patient of Dr. 
D 's. They observed also, as he came nearer, that 



826 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

he was dressed in a blue frock-coat, black satin waist- 
coat, and black pantaloons and hat. Also, on compar- 
ing notes afterward, both ladies, it appeared, had noticed 
that his linen was particularly fine, and that his whole 
apparel seemed to have been very carefully adjusted. 
He came up so close that they were on the very point 
of addressing him ; but at that moment he stepped 
aside, as if to let them pass ; and then, even while ike 
eyes of both the ladies were upon him, he suddenly and 
entirely disappeared." 

The ladies afterward learned from Dr. D that 

Mr. Tliompson had been confined to his room during 
the entire day. The narrative was communicated to 
Mr. Owen by Mrs. D m the year 1859. 

"How strong in this case," Mr. Owen remarks, "is 
the presumptive evidence against hallucination ! Even, 
setting aside the received doctrine of the books, that 
there is no collective hallucination, how can we imagine 
that there should be produced, at the very same mo- 
ment, without suggestion or expectation, or unusual ex- 
citement of any kind, on the brain of two diflSerent per- 
sons, a perception of the self-same image, minutely de- 
tailed, without any external object to produce it? Was 
that image imprinted on the retina in the case both of 
mother and daughter ? How could this be if there was 
nothing existing in the outside world to imprint it? 
Or was there no image on the retina ? Was it a purely 
subjective impression ; that is, a false perception, due to 
disease ? But among the millions of impressions which 
may be produced, if imagination only is the creative 
agent, how infinite the probabilities against the contin- 
gency that, out of these millions, this one especial ob- 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 827 

ject should present itself in two independent cases ! — 
not only a particular person, dressed in a particular 
manner, but that person advancing along a road^ ap- 
proaching within a few steps of the observers, and then 
disappearing ! Yet even this is not the limit of the ad- 
verse chanc s. There is not only identity of object, but 
exact coincidence of time. The two perceive the very 
same thing at the very same moment ; and this coinci- 
dence continues throughout several minutes. 

" What is the natural and necessary conclusion ? 
That there was an image produced on the retina, and 
that there was an objective reality there to produce it. 

" It may seem marvelous, it may appear hard to be- 
lieve, that the appearance of a human being, in his usual 
dress, should present itself where that human being is 
not. It would be a thing a thousand times more mar- 
velous, ten thousand times harder to believe, that the 
fortuitous action of disease, freely ranging throughout 
the infinite variety of contingent possibilities, should 
produce, by mere chance, a mass of coincidences such 
as make up, in this case, the concurrent and cotempora- 
neous sensations of mother and daughter." 

I am not aware that it is a " received doctrine of the 
books " that there are no collective hallucinations. Mr. 
Owen himself quotes several writers who appear to have 
different opinions. I copy the following mainly for the 
purpose of showing, if the reader can understand it, Mr. 
Owen's ideas upon the point : 

" De Boismont reminds us that considerable assem- 
blages of men have been the dupes of the same illusions. 
*A cry,' he says, 'suffices to affright a multitude. An 
individual who thinks he sees something supernatural, 



828 . MODERlSr DIABOLISM. 

soon causes others, as little enliglitened as tie, to share 
his convictioru' As to illusions^ both optical and oral, 
this is undoubtedly true ; more especially when these 
present themselves in times of excitement— as during a 
battle or a plague — or when they are generated in twi- 
light gloom or midnight darkness. But that the con- 
tagion of example, or the belief of one individual under 
the actual influence of hallucination, suffices to produce, 
in others around, disease of the retina or of the optic or 
auditory nerve, or, in short, any abnormal condition of 
the senses, is a supposition which, so far as my reading 
extends, is unsupported by any reliable proof whatever." 
That is, in short, in times of excitement, in twilight 
gloom or midnight darkness, an indi\ddual may cause 
others to share his illusions ; but an individual under 
the influence of hallucination cannot produce in others 
disease of the retina or optic nerve. I presume that 
neither of these assertions will be disputed by any one. 
How the facts support Mr. Owen's theory, however, I 
do not perceive ; unless it is assumed that a hallncina- 
tion is always produced by disease of the eye or optic 
nerve, while an illusion is not. Such a supposition 
would be exti'emely abAird. It would make necessary 
the assumption that in biological experiments the op- 
erator always produces such disease in the subject — the 
disease changing as often as the operator, by his will, 
produces a change of hallucination ; while in illusions, 
although, in the cases supposed by Mr. Owen, the opera- 
tor produces precisely the same effect, there is no dis- 
ease of the kiud. I am hei'c supposing the distinction 
between illusions and hallucinations to be, that in the 
former case something is actually seen, while in the latter 



REVIEW OP NARRATIVES. 329 

there is no "objective reality." As a matter of fact, 
Lowever, this distinction must in some cases be a very- 
fine one; for example, where the object actually seen 
has not the slightest resemblance to what is supposed to 
be seen. 

I deny that what are properly called hallucinations 
are always produced by disease of the organs of sight. 
So far as regards the narrative under notice, however, 
it makes no difference whether the occurrence is called 
a hallucination or an illusion, for it is probable that 
something was seer). As Mr. Owen admits that, under 
favorable circumstances, one individual may cause 
others to share his illusions, let us call the occurrence 
by the latter name. 

Assuming the narrative to be substantially coiTect, 
the following, I think, is the true explanation : The 
ladies were walking in a copse-wood — a place favorable 
for illusions. Persons unaccustomed to walking in 
woods are very liable to be the victims of illusions. A 
shadow, a stump, or the body of a tree, is mistaken for 
a human being — the motion of the observer giving the 
object the appearance of motion. The ladies were 
mother and daughter, and, consequently, there was 
an affinity existing between them. Some object was 
seen which was mistaken for a man approaching them. 
Whether the daughter thought it was a man before the 
mother called her attention to it, cannot be determined 
from the narrative ; at all events, she then shared the 
illusion of the mother ; but, while the mother thought 
it was her husband, the daughter thought it was a taller 
man. The probability is that the latter at once thought 
of the acquaintance Thompson. However this may 



330 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

have been, one or the other suggested that it was Mr 
Thompson, and then their illusions coincided and be- 
came very strong. The coincidence of their illusions as 
to dress followed as a matter of course ; the appearance 
being, undoubtedly, such as they had seen him wear. 
"When the illusion vanished — probably in consequence 
of their approach to the object — the ladies commenced 
" comparing notes ; " and they continued afterward 
comparing notes, and talking of the subject, until the 
story assumed a character somewhat marvelous. On 
the latter point I would remark, and I speak advisedly, 
not one woman in t n thousand could give an unexag- 
gerated account of such an occurrence. But the account 
does not show that the coincidence lasted " several min- 
utes," as Mr. Owen states ; nor even that it lasted one 
minute. 

It is not easy to understand Mr. Owen's views regard- 
ing illusions and hallucinations. He seems to believe 
that a " spirit " can produce the latter in an individual 
of our world. The dream narrated under the heading 
of " The Negro Servant " was caused, as he evidently 
believes, by a being of the invisible world ; and it is 
stated that the dreamer " was astonished, on entering her 
mother's house, to meet the very black servant whom 
she had seen in her dream, as he had been engaged dur- 
ing her absence." ISTow, if the lady was made to per- 
ceive the servant by a '' spirit," as supposed, there is but 
one mode by which this could be effected, namely, by 
the "spirit" first forming the image in his, or her, own 
mind, and reproducing the same in the mind of the 
lady. And there is no ground for the assumption, that 
the power of an individual of our world, in this respect, 



REVIEW OF NABRATIVES. , 881 

is not of the same kind (tliougli it maj be less in degree) 
as that of an inhabitant of the invisible world. It is 
true, that in the one case the lady was asleep, while in 
the other both ladies were awake. But here, again, 
there is no ground for assuming that the power of one 
mind over another in the two cases differs in Icind^ al- 
though it undoubtedly does in degree. 

The fact that such occurrences (two or more, think- 
ing they see the same object at the same time) are un- 
usual, instead of supporting the spiritual hypothesis, is 
very strong evidence that they are hallucinations or illu- 
sions. If, as Mr. Owen insists, " there ivas an image 
produced on the retina, and there teas an objective real- 
ity there to produce it " — the objective reality being as- 
sumed to be the spirit of Thompson — why should it be 
an unusual event for two or more persons to see a spirit 
at the same time ? Why are they not seen in the streets 
of New York and London by hundreds of individuals 
on the same day ? 

Let us look again at the absurdity of the spiritual 
hypothesis as applied to such a case. The fact will not 
be disputed, that the same individual cannot be in two 
places at the same time. Then, admitting that there 
was, at the time, a Mr. Thompson walking in the copse- 
wood, it certainly was not the Thompson that was in 
his room at the time. The Thompson walking in the 
copse-wood may have resembled the other Thompson ; 
he may have been " dressed in a blue frock-coat, black 
satin waistcoat, and black pantaloons and hat ; " his 
linen may have been " particularly fine ; " and, in short, 
his whole apparel may have been " very carefully ad- 
justed," so as to resemble that of the other Thompson ; 



:332 : MODERN DIABOLISlC 

but, after all, it could not have been the other Thompson ; 
nor could one Thompson be responsible, either legally 
or morally, for the actions of the other. The subject 
of dress is one "which Spiritualists always evade; but I 
can conceive of no reason why the spiritual Thompson 
should dress precisely as the other Thompson dressed ; 
nor, in fact, why spirits should at all consult the fashion 
of our world as to dress. 

» The Two Sisters." 

"In the month of October, 1833, Mr. C , a gentle- 
man, several members of whose family have since be- 
come well and favorably known in the literary world, 
was residing in a country-house, in Hamilton County, 
Ohio. He had just completed a new residence, about 
seventy or eighty yards from that in which he was then 
living, intending to move into 'it in a few days. The 
new house was in plain sight of the old, no tree or shrub 
intervening ; but they were separated, about half-way, 
by a small, somewhat abrupt ravine. A garden 
stretched from the old house to the hither edge of this 
ravine, and the farther extremity of this garden was 
about forty yards from the newly erected building. 
Both buildings fronted west, toward a public road, the 
south side of the old dwelling being directly opposite 
to the north side of the new. Attached to the rear of 
the new dwelling was a spacious kitchen, of which a 
door opened to the north. 

" The family, at that time, consisted of father, mother, 
uncle, and nine children. One of the elder daughters, 
then between fifteen and sixteen years old, was named 



Ri:VIEW OF NARRATIVES. 333 

Rhoda ; and another, the youngest but one, Lucy, was 
between three and four years of age. 

"One afternoon in that month of October, after a 
heavy rain, the weather had cleared up ; and between 
four and five o'clock the sun shone out. About five 

o'clock Mi"s. C stepped out into a yard on the south 

side of the dwelling they were occupying, whence, in 
the evening sun, the new house, including the kitchen 
already referred to, was distinctly visible. Suddenly 

she called a daughter, A , saying to her, ' What can 

Rhoda possibly be doing there, with the child in her 
arms? She ought to know better, this damp weather.' 

A , looking in the direction in which her mother 

pointed, saw, plainly and unmistakably, seated in a 
rocking-chair just within the kitchen door of the new 
residence, Rhoda, with Lucy in her arms. ' What a 
strange thing ! ' she exclaimed : ' it is but a few minutes 
since I left them up-stairs.' And, with that, going in 
search of them, she found both in one of the upper 

rooms, and brought them down. Mr. C and other 

members of the family soon joined them. Their amaze- 
ment — that of Rhoda especially — may be imagined. 
The figures seated at the hall-door, and the two children 
now actually in their midst, were absolutely identical 
in appearance, even to each minute particular of dress. 

" Five minutes more elapsed, in breathless expecta- 
tion, and there still sat the figures ; tliat of Rhoda ap- 
pearing to rock with the motion of the chair on which 
it seemed seated. All the family congregated, and 
every member of it — therefore twelve persons in all — 
saw the figures, noticed the rocking motion, and became 



834: MODERN- DIABOLISM. 

convinced, past all possible doubt, that it was the ap- 
pearance of Rlioda and Lucy. 

" Then the father, Mr. C , resolved to cross over 

and endeavor to obtain some solution of the mystery ; 
but, having^ lost sight of the figures in descending the 
ravine, when he ascended the opposite bank they were 
gone. 

" Meanwhile the daughter A .had walked down 

to the lower end of the garden, so as to get a closer 
view ; and the rest remained gazing from the spot whence 
they had first witnessed this unaccountable phenomenon. 

Soon after Mr. C had left the house, they all saw 

the appearance of Ehoda rise from the chair ^vith the 
child in its arms, then lie down across the threshold of 
the kitchen door ; and, after it had remained in that re- 
cumbeni position for a minute or two, still embracing 
the child, the figures were seen gradually to sink down 

out of sight. When Mr. C reached the entrance there 

was not a trace nor appearance of a human being." 

This narrative was communicated to Mr, Owen by 
two of the daughters in the year 1860. 

Twenty-seven years had elapsed, then, between the oc- 
currence and the time when the account was given ; and, 
as it is stated that one of the eldest daughters was, at 
the time, between fifteen and sixteen years old, the two 
from whom Mr. Owen received the account must have 
been quite young when the events took place. Assum- 
ing the narrative to be substantially correct, I can only 
explain it upon the supposition that the setting sun, 
shining out after the rain, produced in some way the 
illusion- It will be observed that all the members of 
the familj, with the exception of the mother, were told 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 836 

wlitit the appearance was before tliey perceived the like- 
nesses. Instances of illusions like this are too common 
to need explanation. Mr. Owen himself admits that 
such illusions do occur. 

If it is possible that Rhoda and Lucy were actually 
looking at their own "spirits," and not aware that their 
spirits were absent from their " natural " bodies, nor 
sensible of their return, then, the spirits were separate 
and distinct beings. It is admitted by the most intel- 
ligent class of Spiritualists that the only benefit Spirit- 
ualism has, as yet, confeiTed upon mankind is, that it 
has confirmed our belief in immortality. But what is 
this immortality, if these appearances were the spirits 
of the two daughters ? There is, existing within me, 
according to this doctrine, a being that will continue to 
live after my death. But it is not me, it is not the indi- 
vidual who is writing these lines, that will continue to 
exist. The immortal being may be, at this moment, 
off on an excursion, taking a walk, perhaps, in some 
copse- wood, while I am trying to prove that he has no 
existence. But whether he has, or has not, an exist- 
ence, is a matter of no particular moment to me. 

" The Dying Mother and her Babe." 

A lady residing in Cambridgeshire, England,- being 
ill, went to London for medical advice, leaving a child 
at home. The mother became worse, and was unable 
to return. In the mean time the child sickened and 
died. A young lady, staying in the house, who, it is 
stated, had from infancy been accustomed to the occa- 
sional sight of apparitions, went alone into the room 



836 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

where the body of the infant lay in its coffin, and there 
saw, reclining on a sofa near the coffin, the appearance 
of the mother. 

On account of her critical condition, the mother had 
not been advised of the death of the child ; but, reviving 
as from a swoon about the time of the appearance to 
the young lady, as was afterward ascertained, she asked 
her husband why she had not been informed of the 
death, and said : " It is useless to deny it, Samuel, for 
I have just been home, and have seen her in her little 
coffin." 

This occurred in the year 1843, and was related to 
Mr. Owen, by the lady who saw the apparition of the 
mother, in 1859. 

I infer from the narrative that the mother was asleep, 
or, at least, partially so ; and she was probably dream- 
ing or thinking of her child, and of the young lady in 
whose charge it was left. This young lady was accus- 
tomed to the sight of apparitions ; that is, according to 
my views, she was impressible, and subject to hallucina- 
tions. On going into the room where the corpse lay. 
she would naturally think of the mother; and as the 
latter was at the same time thinking of her, the two 
were brought intimately en rapport. The room was 
probably, as is usual, partially darkened. Now, if one 
mind can produce an effect upon another, that a young 
lady subject to hallucinations should, under such cir- 
cumstances, experience one, is not at all strange. When 
the two ladies became, fpr a moment, perfectly en rap- 
port^ their perceptions coincided. The mother really 
saw nothing, for she was asleep ; the young lady saw 
the apparition of the mother and the dead child in its 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 387 

coffin ; or at least had the latter in her mind, which 
would have the same effect as if she was looking at it 
Whether the mother retained the impression of having 
reclined on the sofa, or not, does not appear fi-om the 
narrative, and is not material. Sometimes only the 
strongest impressions are retained; and the vision of 
the dead child in its coffin may have been all that was 
recollected. 

Mr. Owen does not trouble himself with seeking for 
any coherence in his theory as applied to the different 
narratives. In this, and the two narratives entitled 
" The Mother and Son," and " One Dream the Counter- 
part of Another," the parties experienced the sensation 
of being where their apparitions were seen ; and in such 
cases the " spirit " is represented as being the individual, 
or, as Spiritualists express it, as containing the soul. 
But it is evident from the narratives entitled, " Sight 
and Sound," " Apparition of the Living seen by Mother 
and Daughter," and " The Two Sisters," that in these 
cases the parties had no knowledge or sensation of being 
where their spirits were supposed to be seen ; in fact, in 
the latter cases there appears to have existed, at least 
for the time being, no more connection between the 
" spiritual body " and the "natural body" than between 
the latter and any other individual ; and therefore each 
body — the natural and spiritual — must have possessed 
its own distinct " soul," whatever the latter may be. 

" The Visionary Excursion.''^ 

"In June of the year 1857, a lady whom I shall desig- 
nate as Mrs. A (now Lady ), was residing with 



338 MODER]Sr DIABOLISM. 

her Irasband, a colonel in the British army, and their 
infant child, on "Woolwich Common, near London. 

" One night in the early part of that month, suddenly 
awaking to consciousness, she felt herself as if standing 
by the bedside and looking upon her own body, which 
lay there by the side of her sleeping husband. Her 
first impression was that she had died suddenly ; and 
the idea was confirmed by the pale and lifeless look of 
the body, the face void of expression, and the whole 
appearance showing no sign of vitality. She gazed at 
it with curiosity for some time, comparing its dead look 
with that of the fresh countenances of her husband and 
of her slumbering infant in a cradle hard by. For a 
moment she experienced a feeling of relief that she had 
escaped the pangs of death ; but the next, she reflected 
what a grief her death would be to the survivors, and 
then came a wish that she could have broken the news 
to them gradually, While engaged in these thoughts, 
she felt herself carried to the wall of the room, with a 
feeling that it must arrest her further progress. But 
no: she seemed to pass through it into the open air." 

The lady was. as she thought, thus carried along, with- 
out action or volition on her part, past familiar objects, 
until she found herself in the bed-chamber of an intimate 

friend. Miss L M , at Greenwich ; with whom 

she entered into conversation, the purport of which she 
did not recollect. 

This occurred during a Wednesday night. On the 

succeeding Friday Miss L M visited Mrs. 

A , when the two ladies began conversing about 

bonnets ; and Mrs. A said, " My last was trimmed 

with violet ; and I like the color so much, I think I 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES 339 

shall select it again." "Yes," her friend replied, "I 

know that is your color." "How so?" Mrs. A 

asked. " Because when you came to me the other 
night — let me see; when was it? — ah, I remember, the 
night before last — it was robed in violet that you ap- 
peared to me." "I appeared to you the other night? " 
" Yes, about three o'clock ; and we had quite a conver- 
sation together. Have you no recollection of it? " 

This narrative was given Mr. Owen in 1859 by one 
of the ladies, and confirmed by the other. To assume 
that it was precisely accurate as to the actual conversa- 
tion, would be equivalent to assuming that Miss L 

M was an idiot ; but this is a matter of little con- 
sequence ; and we will suppose the narrative to be sub- 
stantially correct. It is so similar to others which I 
have copied that it requires no additional explanation ; 
and my only reason for noticing it is, tliat Mr. Owen 
here advances more definitely than in the preceding 
cases his theory upon the subject. He says : 

"Kesembling in its general character the Wilkins 
dream, the above differs from it chiefly in this, that the 
narrator appears to have observed more minutely the 
succession of her sensations, thus suggesting to us the 
idea that the apparently lifeless body which seemed to 
her to have remained behind might, for the time, have 
parted with what we may call a spiritual portion of it- 
self; which portion moving off without the usual means 
of locomotion, might make itself perceptible, at a cer- 
tain distance, to another person. Let him who may 
pronounce this a fantastical hypothesis, absurd on its 
face, suggest some other sufiicient to explain the phe- 
nomenon we are here examining." 



340 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

This hypothesis does not explain this phenomenon at 
all ; for the principal portion of the figure which Miss 

L- M— — thought she saw, was a violet dress ; not 

a spiritual portion, or any other portion of the body of 

Mrs. A . She probably thought that she saw her 

face, and nothing more. Now, the supposition that a 
spiritual portion of the body of Mrs. A could as- 
sume the form and appearance of a violet dress, would 
certainly be a " fantastical hypothesis." And it would 
be equally absurd to suppose that the spirit procured, 

in some way, the dress, and that Mrs. A had no 

recollection of this, while she recollected so many other 
less important occurrences. But, in fact, as all the 
movements of the spirit were involuntary, how could it 
have procured the dress ? Spiritualists entirely ignore 
the question as to the dress of the spirits. Mr. Owen's 
work contains about five hundred pages ; and yet he 
makes no attempt to explain this point. 

But what could have carried the spirit, without its 

own volition, into the bed-chamber of Miss L 

M ? Not the volition of the " natural body ; " for, 

according to the narrative, the " soul " was with the 
"spiritual body." And look once more at the utter in- 
coherence of Mr. Owen's views. In this case, the nat- 
ural body is supposed to be left in a lifeless condition 
in consequence of the 3pirit's exit ; in other cases, the 
spirit is not missed by the natural body at all. 

It is stated in the narrative that Mrs. A was ex- 
pecting the visit of Miss L M . In the night 

she dreamed of visiting her ; and as violet was her 
favorite color, dreamed that she was dressed in violet j 
this produced a coinciding dream in her iriend. The 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 341 

narrative does not state that Mrs. A thougbt she 

was dressed in violet; but, even according to Mr. 
Owen's theory, she must have thought, or, as he would 
probably say, have Tcnown that she was. 

In the Wilkins narrative, and in that entitled " One 
Dream the Counterpart of Another," the original dreamer 
— the one who produced the corresponding dream in 
another — dreamed that cei-tain words were spoken ; and 
each party recollected precisely the same words. In 

this case, Mrs. A merely dreamed that she had a 

conversation with her friend ; she did not dream of 
any particular words being spoken. Such, at least, 
appears to have been her recollection. And the recol- 
lection of her friend appears to have been precisely the 
same ; she only remembered they had a conversation ; 
not, apparently, recollecting a single word that was 
spoken. Such precise coincidences in the recollections 
of the parties would be very strange if the visits were 
real, and not imaginary ones. 

The chapter on " Apparitions of the Living" contains 
one narrative which, if true, cannot be explained other- 
wise than upon the spiritual hypothesis. It was given 
Mr. Owen by the Captain Clarke, who also gave him 
the inexplicable narrative entitled " The Two Field- 
mice." The narrative is quite lengthy, covering about 
eight pages of Mr. Owen's work ; and I can give only 
a synopsis. 

" The Rescue:' 

In the year 1828 Robert Bruce was first mate of a 
bark bound from* Liverpool to Si, John's, New Bruns- 



342 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

wick. One day, having taken an observation at noon, 
the captain and mate descended to make their calcula- 
tions ; the captain to the cabin, and the mate to his state- 
room, from which he could see into the cabin. The 
C3.ptain, having finished his calculations, went on deck. 
When Bruce had finished his, supposing the captain to 
be still in the cabin, he inquired as to how their calcu- 
lations agreed. Eeceiving no answer, he looked into 
the cabin, and saw the captain, as he supposed, writing 
on his slate. As Bruce rose, and was about entering 
the cabin, the person that he thought the captain raised 
his head, when Bruce perceived that the individual was 
an entire stranger. 

The narrative asserts that " Bruce was no coward ; " 
but immediately contradicts this by the statement that 
when he perceived it was a stranger he became fright- 
ened, rushed on deck, and reftised to descend again and 
ascertain who the individual was, as the captain re- 
quested, until the latter led the way. No one was found 
in the cabin when the captain and Bruce entered it ; but 
upon examining the slate, they found written on it, 
" Steer to the nor'westy 

In obedience to this mysterious mandate, the captain 
decided to change the course of the bark from south of 
west to northwest ; and after sailing in the latter direc- 
tion for several hours, a vessel was discovered wrecked 
in a field of ice. This vessel had several passengers ; 
and when these were transferred to the bark, Bi-uce re- 
cognized one of them as the person he had seen writing 
on the slate. This individual was then asked to write 
the words, " Steer to the nor'west," which he did, when 



EEVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 343 

the hand-writing was found to precisely resemble that 
of the original sentenca 

It seems to me unnecessary to discuss the credibility 
of this story, for the reason that if such an extraordinary 
occurrence had taken place, iviili as many ivilnesses as 
is represented., the facts would have been made known 
wherever a newspaper was published The only point 
worth examining, and this only as bearing upon the 
credibility of the preceding narrative of this Captain 
Clarke, is, who was the liar in this case, Clarke or 
Bruce ? 

Mr. Owen says: "I asked Captain Clarke if he knew 
Bruce well, and what sort of man he was. ' As truth- 
fal and straightforward a man,' he replied, ' as ever I 
met in all my life. We were as intimate as brothers ; 
and two men can't be together, shut up for seventeen 
months in the same ship, without getting to know 
whetlier they can trust one another's word or not' " 

But Mr. Owen should first have ascertained what sort 
of man Clarke was. So far as appears, he knew nothing 
about Clarke, except that he had learned, in some way, 
that the latter had these marvelous stories to relate; 
when he went down to the New York docks and re- 
ceived the narratives. What sort of a man Bruce was, 
was certainly a very naive inquiry. Bruce was prob- 
ably a myth ; at any rate, it is very obvious that Clarke 
never received the story from Bruce ; for if he had, he 
would have given the names of the bark and wrecked 
vessel, with other items, by means of which the truth 
of the story could be ascertained. It will be perceived, 
and Mr. Owen should have noticed, that Clarke did not 
give a single item" of the kind. Now, he could not have 



S44 -. MODERlSr DIABOLISM. 

heard such a wonderfol story, and have been seventeen 
months in the same ship with the narrator, the two " as 
intimate as brothers," without having learned all the 
items in tbe case. It is evident that Clarke, not Bruce, 
was the liar in this case ; and we have, therefore, a right 
to conclude that the preceding narrative given bj the 
former, entitled " The Two Field-mice," is also a fiction. 

In this case, again, if there is any truth in the narra- 
tive, the spirit was dressed in a suit precisely like that 
worn by the natural body. But why do the spirits al- 
ways imitate tbe natural body in dress ? Why copy 
the fashions of our world at all ; and especially for a 
short excursion like this, where a more simple dress 
would serve as well? The truth appears to be, that 
Mr. Owen has written this book without having once 
thought about the matter of dress. 

And, once more, look at the incoherence of his theo- 
ries, in common with those of all Spiritualists. Some- 
times it appears from the narratives he gives, that the 
spirits can only communicate with our world by means 
of a medium ; at other times, as in this case, there is no 
necessity for a medium, the spirit can make itself visi- 
ble, and write on a slate without any such aid. 

From the chapter on " Apparitions of the Dead," I 
will take two narratives of such occurrences where the 
apparitions were, as I think, produced by beings of the 
other world ; selecting such as are of most recent date, 
and which appear to be best authenticated. 

The following, Mr. Owen says, was communicated to 
him, under date of April 25, 1859, in a letter from the 
Eev. Dr., a clergyman of the Church of England, 
and Chaplain to the British Legation at — — ^ who in- 



EEVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 845 

formed him that " the relation is in the very words, so 
far as his memory serves, iu which the narrator, his 
brother, repeated it to him. Though not at liberty to 
print the reverend gentleman's name, he has permitted 
me to furnish it privately in any case in which it might 
serve the cause to advance which these pages have been 
written." 

" The Stains of Bloods 

"In the year 185- I was staying, with my wife 

and children, at the favorite watering-place . In 

order to attend to some affairs of my own, I deter- 
mined to leave my family there for three or four days. 
Accordingly, on the — th. of August, I took the rail- 
way, and arrived that evening, an unexpected guest, at 
Hall, the residence of a gentleman whose acquaint- 
ance I had recently made, and wid|, whom my sister 
was then staying. 

" I arrived late, soon afterward went to bed, and be- 
fore long fell asleep. Awaking after three or four 
hours, I was not surprised to find I could sleep no 
more ; for I never rest well in a strange bed. After 
trying, therefore, in vain again to induce sleep, I began 
to arrange my plans for the day. 

" I had been engaged some little time in this way, 
when I became suddenly sensible that there was a light 
in the room. Turning round, I distinctly' perceived a 
female figure ; and what attracted my special attention 
was, that the light by which I saw it emanated from itself. 
I watched the figure attentively. The features were 
not perceptible. After moving a little distance, it dis- 
appeared as suddenly as it had appeared. 



346 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

"My first thouglits were that there was some trick. 
I immediately got out of bed, struck a light, and found 
my bedroom-door still locked. I then carefully exam- 
ined the walls, to ascertain if there were any other con- 
cealed means of entrance or exit ; but none could I find. 
I drew the curtains and opened the shutters ; but all 
outside was silent and dark, there being no moonlight 

" In doubt and uncertainty I passed the rest of the 
night ; and in the morning, descending early, I imme- 
diately told my sister what had occurred, describing to 
her accurately everything connected with the appear- 
ance I had witnessed. She seemed much struck with 
what I told her, and replied : ' It is very odd ; for you 
have heard, I dare say, that a lady was, some years ago, 
murdered in this house ; but it was not in the room you 
slept in.' I answered, that I had never heard anything 
of the kind, and mis beginning to make further in- 
quiries about the murder, when I was interrupted by 
the entrance of our host and hostess, and afterward by 
breakfast. After breakfast I left, without having had 
any opportunity of renewing the conversation. 
► " On the Wednesday following I received a letter 
fi:*om my sister, in which she informed me that, since I 
left, she had ascertained that the murder toas committed 
in the very room in which I had slept. She added that 
she purposed visiting us , next day, and that she would 
like me to wi'ite out an account of what I had seen, to- 
gether with a plan of the room, and that on that plan 
she wished me to mark the place of the appearance, and 
of the disappearance of the figure. 

" This I immediately did ; and the next day, when 
my sister arrived, she asked me if I had complied with 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. ' 347 

her request I replied, pointing to the drawing-room 
table, 'Yes: there is the account and the plan.' As 
she rose to examine it, I prevented her, saying, ' Do not 
look at it until you have told me all you have to say, 
because you might unintentionally color your story by 
what you may read there.' 

"Thereupon she informed me that she had had the 
carpet taken up in the room I had occupied, and that 
the marks of blood from the murdered person were 
there, plainly visible, on a particular part of the floor. 
At my request she also then drew a plan of the room, 
and marked upon it the spots which still bore traces 
of blood. The two plans — my sister's and mine — were 
then compared, and we verified the most remarkable 
fact, that the places she had marked as the begimiing and 
endiiKJi of the traces of blood coincided exactly with the spots 
marked on my plan as those on which the female figure had 
appeared and disappeared^^ 

Of course the sister could not have ascertained which 
was the beginning and which the ending of the traces 
of blood ; that was a subsequent inference. I call at- 
tention to this, merely for the purpose of showing with 
what caution these marvelous narratives must be re- 
ceived. This naiTator evidently intended to state the 
facts, and nothing more; and yet, he has stated as a 
fact what was merely an inference. It is a matter of 
no great importance here; but in some cases it is a 
point of vast importance whether what is stated as a 
remarkable coincidence is a known fact, or an inference. 

And this inaccuracy has in this case a bearing upon 
the question as to the nature of the phenomenon. I 
presume the apparition was prodaced by one of the 



848 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Other world, probably by the murdered lady ; but I 
think it was merely a hallucination which was pro- 
duced, and that the gentleman really saw nothing. 

I have had a somewhat similar experience myself. 
One night in the month of November, or Decenjber, 
1863, while lying awake, I perceived what appeared to 
be a draped female statue in marble, standing with the 
left side toward me, about four feet from the foot of the 
bed. It was not the likeness of any one I knew ; and 
I had not recently seen any statues, nor, so far as I can 
recollect, read or thought of any. At first it was very 
indistinct ; that is, the room appeared to be dark ; but 
while looking at it, and endeavoring to make out the 
features more clearly, the face and upper portion of the 
bust appeared to be suddenly illuminated, and then the 
whole figure as suddenly disappeared, I could have 
marked on a plan of the room the spot where the statue 
appeared to stand ; and yet I could have seen nothing, 
for my eyes were closed. 

Of course it is possible for any one to ascertain 
whether the light in such a case is real or not, by ob- 
serving whether it renders other objects visible; but 
the difficulty is that the attention is entirely concen- 
trated upon the figure supposed to be seen, and other 
facts are not observed. It would be useless to speculate 
as to the object of the murdered lady in producing the 
apparition ; probably she had no definite object what- 
ever. 

It will be understood that I have here given my 
views as to this particular phenomenon ; not that I be- 
lieve it would be an impossibility for one of the other 
world to produce a dress (which appears to be all that 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 349 

the gentleman thought he saw) which might be actually 
seen by one of our world ; and it is possible the dress 
might be made luminous in the dark. But, as I shall 
hereafter show, considerable time is required in the pre 
paration of such dresses. 

" The Fourteenth of November^ 
" In the month of September, 1857, Captain G 



W , of the 6th (Inniskillin) Dragoons, went out to 

India to join his regiment 

" His wife remained in England, residing at Cam- 
bridge. On the night between the 14th and 15th of 
November, 1867, toward morning, she dreamed that she 
saw her husband, looking anxious and ill ; upon which 
she immediately awoke, much agitated. It was bright 
moonlight ; and, looking up, she perceived the same 
figure standing by her bedside. He appeared in his 
uniform, the hands pressed across the breast, the hair 
disheveled, the face very pale. His large dark eyes 
were fixed full upon her ; their expression was that of 
gi'eat excitement, and there was a peculiar contraction 
of the mouth, habitual to him when agitated. She saw 
him, even to each minute particular of his dress, as dis- 
tinctly as she had ever done in her life ; and she re- 
members to have noticed between his hands the white 
of the shirt bosom, unstained, however, with blood. The 
figure seemed to bend forward, as if in pain, and to 
make an efibrt to speak ; but there was no sound. It 
remained visible, the wife thinks, as loi:ig as a minute, 
and then disappeared. 

" Next morning she related all this to her mother, ex- 



850 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

pressing her conviction, though she had noticed no 

marks of blood on his dress, that Captain "W was 

either killed or grievously wounded. So fully im- 
pressed was she with the reality of that apparition that 
she thenceforth refused all invitations. A young friend 
urged her, soon afterward, to go with her to a fashion- 
able concert, reminding her that she had received from 
Malta, sent by her husband, a handsome dress-cloak, 
which she had never yet worn. But she positively de- 
clined, declaring that, uncertain as she was whether 
she was not already a widow, she would never enter a 
plac:" of amusement until she had letters from her hus- 
band (if, indeed, he still lived) of later date than the 
14th of November." 

Some time in the succeeding month (December) a 
telegram was published in London, stating that Captain 

W was killed before Lucknow on \he fifteenth of 

November ; and official intelligence was afterward re- 
ceived at the War Office to the same effect. 

When Mr. Wilkinson, a London solicitor who had in 

charge Captain W 's affairs, met Mrs. W , after 

the publication of the telegram, she informed him of the 
apparition, saying she felt sure that her husband could 
not have been killed on the 15th of November, inas- 
much as it was during the night between the Idth and 
15th that he appeared to her. The certificate from the 
War Office, however, which it became Mr. Wilkinson's 
duty to obtain, confirmed the date given in the tele- 
gram. 

After the interview with Mrs. W— — , Mr. Wilkinson 
visited a friend, called Mr. N , " whose lady has all 



REVIEW OF narratives; 351 

her life had perception of apparitions, while her hus- 
band is what is usually called an impressible medium." 

" Mr. "Wilkinson related to them, as a wonderful cir- 
cumstance, the vision of the captain's widow in connec- 
tion with his death, and described the figure as it had 

appeared to her. Mrs. N , turning to her husband, 

instantly said, ' That must be the very person I saw, 
the evening we were talking of India, and you drew an 
elephant, with a howdah on his back. Mr, Wilkinson 
has described his exact position and appearance ; the 
uniform of a British officer, his hands pressed across his 
breast, his fonn bent forward as if in pain. The figure,' 
she added to Mr. Wilkinson, ' appeared just behind my 
husband, and seemed looking over his left shoulder.' 

" ' Did you attempt to obtain any communication from 
him ? ' Mr. Wilkinson asked. 

" ' Yes : we procured one through the medium of my 
husband.' 

" ' Do you remember its purport ? ' 

'"It was to the effect that he had been killled in In- 
dia that afternoon, by a wound in the breast ; and add- 
ing, as I distinctly remember, " That thing I used to go 
about in is not buried yet." I particularly marked the 
expression.' " 

This occurred, as was found by looking at the date 
of a bill which had been paid on the same evening, on 
the 14th of November. 

In the month of March, 1858, the family of Captain 

W received a letter from India, informing them 

that the captain had been killed in the afternoon of the 
14th of November ; having been struck in the breast by 
a fragment of shell. And the War Office, more than a 



852 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

year after the event occurred, made the correction as to 
the date of the death, altering it from the 15th to the 
14th of November. 

; " This extraordinary narrative," Mr. Owen says, " was 
obtained by me directly from the parties themselves. 
The widow of Captain W kindly consented to ex- 
amine and correct the manuscript, and allowed me to 
inspect a copy of Captain C 's letter, giving the par- 
ticulars of her husband's death. To Mr. Wilkinson, 
also, the manuscript was submitted, and he assented to 
its accuracy so far as he is concerned. That portion 
which relates to Mrs. N I had from that lady her- 
self I have neglected no precaution, therefore, to ob- 
tain 'for it the warrant of authenticity. 

" It is, perhaps, the only example on record where the 
appearance of what is usually termed a ghost proved the 
means of correcting an erroneous date in the dispatches 
of a commander-in-chief, and of detecting an inaccuracy 
in the certificate of a War Office. 

" It is especially valuable, too, as furnishing an exam- 
ple of a double apparition. Nor can it be alleged (even 
if the allegation had weight) that the recital of one lady 
caused the apparition of the same figure to the other. 

Mrs. W was at the time in Cambridge, and Mrs. 

N in London ; and it was not till weeks after the 

occurrence that either knew what the other had seen. 

" Those who would explain the whole on the princi- 
ple of chance coincidence have a treble event to take 

into account : the apparition to Mrs. N , that to 

Mrs. W , and the actual time of Captain W 's 

death ; each tallying exactly with the other." 

It does not appear from the narrative that the appari^ 



EEVIEW OF 2^ARRATIVES. 358 

tion had any connection, either directly or indirectly, 
with the correction of the date at the War Office ; and 
such a supposition is rather absurd. The statement on 
this point is, that Mr. Wilkinson, having occasion to 
apply for a second certificate, found that the date had 
been changed. There is no evidence that the apparition 
had even been heard of at the War Office. This, how- 
ever is a matter of no particular consequence. The main 
facts in the case are as well authenticated as anything 
of the kind can be. I recollect reading in an English 
newspaper — or copied from such, I am not certain which 
— shortly after the date of the occurrences, an article 
upon the subject, from which it appeared that there was 
no dispute as to the facts ; but the position was taken 
that the coincidence might have been accidental, and 
that the facts were not sufficient to prove that the spirit 
of Captain W was actually seen. I do not recol- 
lect whether the appearance and communication to Mr. 

and Mrs. N were alluded to, and, in my judgment, 

that part of the narrative is not of the slightest import- 
ance. 

I might, perhaps, have selected a narrative which 
would be better evidence of an apparition produced by 
an inhabitant of the invisible world. All that this nar- 
rative shows to that effect is, that Mrs. W , during 

the night succeeding the afternoon on which her hus- 
band was killed, saw the apparition described. As she 
knew that her husband was fighting in India, that he 
should appear to her, as described, that night in a 
dream, and that the vision of the dream should continue 
for a few seconds after she awoke, might be considered 
an accidental coincidence. But, as the facts have be- 



854 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

come so well known, and have been, more than once, 
triumphantly quoted by Spiritualists in confirmation 
of their doctrines, I have thought it best to give the 
substance of the narrative, with my views regarding 
the occurrences. 

As apparitions, occurring soon after the death of the 
person whose appearance is seen, are, as formerly stated, 
frequent, it is very probable that this one was produced 
by a relative or friend of the captain in the invisible 
world, who, knowing the danger to which he was to be 
exposed, had accompanied him. The invisible being 
producing the apparition, would naturally have in his 
(or her) mind the image of the captain as he appeared 
on being struck by the fragment of shelL It is stated 
that he almost instantly expired. 

Now, let us examine that part of the narrative relat- 
ing to Mr. and Mrs. N . They were talking of India, 

probably of the war there. Mrs. N , a lady who 

" has all her life had perception of apparitions," thought 
she saw a British officer, who appeared to have been 
wounded in the breast — a part of the person which, 
somehow, we are apt to think most likely to be struck 
by a ball, or pierced by a bayonet. Mr. N , an im- 
pressible medium, on being told by his wife that she 
saw an officer standing just behind him, looking as de- 
scribed, thought that he received a communication (by 
impression^ it will be recollected) from the officer, cor- 
roborative of the vision of his wife, and to the effect that 
the death had occurred that afternoon. The vision of 
the seeress. and the communication to the impressible 
medium, may all have been merely effects of the imagi- 
nation. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. ' 855 

But let us assume, which is quite probable, that the 
communication was from an inhabitant of the invisible 

world. It could not have been from Captain W , 

for he would, of course, if he communicated at all with 

Mr. N , have given his name, and a message for his 

widow. A narrative like this shows how entirely Spir- 
itualist discard common sense as a foundation for their 

belief. That Captain W should journey from 

India to England to make his death known to Mrs. 

W , and that when, on reaching London, he found 

a medium through whom he might have sent her a 
message, he merely stated to the medium that he was 
killed in India that afternoon, and that the thing he 
"used to go about in was not buried yet — without even 
giving his name — does not to Spiritualists appear at all 
improbabla 

I presume that Mr. and Mrs. N were impressible 

mediums ; and that, like all other mediums, they were 
surrounded by degraded beings of the invisible world, 
ready at all times to communicate. These beings may, 
possibly, have learned that a battle had been fought 
that day in India ; but it is equally probable that the 
communication was owing to the fact that Mr. and Mrs. 

N were talking of the war. At any rate, it is 

quite certain that the one giving the communication 
had not learned the name of any oflficer who had been 
killed ; for if any such name had been learned it would 
have been given. The silly and vulgar language of 
the sentence, " That thing I used to go about in is not 
buried yet," must be familiar to all who have often vis- 
ited mediums. 

I assume that the apparition, seen by Mrs. W , 



856 .: MODERN- DIABOLISM. 

could not have been produced by lier husband so soon 
after his death. But mj principal object in copying 
this narrative was, to show that what may be called the 
respectable class of the other world will not communi- 
cate through the mediums ; and that therefore it is use- 
less for people to visit mediums for the purpose of re- 
ceiving communications from departed friends. Even 
upon the assumption that this was the spirit of Captain 
"W , which had procured a dress resembling a cap- 
tain's uniform — it is evident that the spirit was unwill- 
ing to send a message to Mrs. W through any me- 
dium ; for if this were not so, a message would have 
been sent 

*' The Brother's Appearance to the Sister." 

This narrative was communicated to Mr. Owen, in 
the year 1859, by William Howitt. who, in reference to 
it, says : 

'' The circumstance you desire to obtain from me is 
one which I have many times heard related by my 
mother. It was an event familiar to our family and the 
neighborhood, and is connected with my earliest memo- 
ries ; having occurred, about the time of my birth, at 
my father's house at Heanor, in Derbyshire, where I 
myself was born." 

"One fine calm afternoon my mother, shortly after a 
confinement, but perfectly convalescent, was lying in 
bed, enjoying, from her window, the scene of summer 
beauty and repose ; a bright sky above, and the quiet 
village before her. In this state she was gladdened by 
hearing footsteps which she took to be those of her 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 857 

brother Frank, as he was familiarly called, approaching 
the chamber-door. The visitor knocked and entered. 
The foot of the bed was toward the door, and the cur- 
tains at the foot, notwithstanding the season, were 
drawn, to prevent any draught Her brother parted 
them and looked in upon her. His gaze was earnest, 
and destitute of its usual cheerfulness, and he spoke 
not a word. ' My dear Frank,' said my mother, ' how 
glad I am to see you ! Come round to the bedside : I 
wish to have some talk with you.' 

"He closed the curtains as complying; but, instead 
of doing so, my mother, to her astonishment, heard him 
leave the room, close the door behind him, and begin 
to descend the stairs. Greatly amazed, she hastily rang, 
and when her maid appeared she bade her call her 
brother back. The girl replied that she had not seen 
him enter the house. But my mother insisted, saying, 
' He was here but this instant Run ! quick ! call him 
back ! I must see him.' " 

About the time of this occurrence the brother had 
been stabbed in the street of the village, and killed on 
the spot 

" On comparing the circumstances and the exact time 
at which each occurred, the fact was substantiated that 
the apparition presented itself to my mother almost in- 
stantly after her brother had received the fatal stroke." 

I at once admit that this narrative, as given, cannot 
b^ explained consistently with the theories I have pro- 
pounded ; and it would be equally difficult to explain 
it upon any theory advanced by Mr. Owen. If this 
narrative is a correct account of the visit of a spirit, 
then most of those in his work have no bearing what* 



858 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

ever upon tHe subject. In the two preceding narratives 
tlie spirits are represented as appearing and disappear- 
ing without opening any door. And in the narrative 
entitled " The Visionary Excursion," where Mr. Owen 
states more definitely than elsewhere his views, the 
" spiritual portion "- — that is, the spiritual body — is sup- 
posed to pass, without the least difficulty, through a 
solid wall. But in this narrative, the spirit is repre- 
sented as being like an individual of our world in every 
respect except that it could not, or would not, talk. It 
even observed the etiquette of knocking at the door be- 
fore opening it. 

Then again, this spirit, apparently, could not speak a 
word ; others converse without difficulty. And if Mr. 
Owen's narratives are accounts of the actual visits of 
spirits, then it would seem that all spirits are idiots, as 
I have represented those to be who communicate through 
mediums. This spirit took the trouble to visit his sis- 
ter ; but instead of going to the side of the bed, as a 
sensible person would have done, he opened the cur- 
tains at the foot ; and when the sister requested him to 
go around to the side, so that she might converse with 
him, he left the room. What object could he have had 
in visiting the sister at all ? 

I presume that this was simply another instance of 
one mind operating upon another. The sister was lying 
in a receptive or impressible condition, and the dying 
brother probably thought of her, which produced a hal- 
lucination of some kind. "We have no means of deter- 
mining the accuracy of the narrative ; for the voucher 
is of the same defective character as that for the narra- 
tive entitled " Bell and Stephenson ; " and the question 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 359 

again arises, How do jou know ? or, in this case, when 
did you last hear the story? the incident having occur- 
red when the narrator was a child. After reading Mr. 
Howitt's •' History of the Supernatural," I conclude the 
story would lose nothing of the marvelous in being told 
by him. 

" The Nobleman and his ServanV^ 

*' The late Lord M , having gone to the Highlands 

about the end of the last century, left his wife perfectly 
well in London. The night of his arrival at his High- 
land home he was awakened by seeing a bright light in 
his room. The curtains of his bed opened, and he saw 

the appearance of Lady M standing there. He 

rang for his servant, and inquired of him what he saw ; 
upon which the man exclaimed, in teiTor, 'It's my 

lady ! ' Lady M had died suddenly in London 

that night. The story made a great noise at the time ; 
and George the Third, sending for Lord M — — and 
ascertaining from him the truth of it, desired him to 
write out the circumstances as they happened ; and 
the servant countersigned the statement. 

" About a year afterward, a child five years old, the 

youngest daughter of Lord M , rushed breathlessly 

into the nursery, exclaiming, 'T have seen mamma 
standing at the top of the stair and beckoning to me.' 

That night the child, little Annabella M , was taken 

ill, and died. " 

Mr. Owen says : " I can vouch, in an unqualified 
manner, for the authenticity of both the above circum- 
stances ; having received the account, in writing, from 
a member of Lord M 's family." 



360 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

That portion of the narrative relating to the child 
requires no further comment than that it indicates a 
family liability to hallucination. It is quite possible 
the mother perceived the approaching death, or at least 
illness, of the child, and that her presence produced in 
the latter a hallucination. 

But the preceding portion of the narrative cannot, as 
it reads, be assumed to be merely an account of a hallu- 
cination; for it is stated that the bed-curtains were 

opened, and not by Lord M. . The account of this 

apparition would, to most persons, appear no more in- 
credible than the accounts I shall hereafter give of what 
I believe to have been real and tangible apparitions. 
But the difficulty in the case is, that these apparitions 
can be produced through the mediumship of but very 
few individuals ; and only after a considerable length 
of time spent in preparing the materials. 

In this case, again, the narrative was given a long 
time — at least sixty years — after the occurrences took 
place, and by one who must at the time have been quite 
young. If we had the account written at the time by 
Lord M , the occurrence might, perhaps, be ex- 
plained ; but there is a lack of detail in this given, 
which makes such explanation impossible. 

It is stated that, " the curtains of his bed opened ; " 
but who, or what, opened them ? If the apparition of 
Lady M opened them. Lord M would, natur- 
ally, have so stated Lord M " was awakened by 

seeing a bright light in his room ; " which must mean, 
I suppose, that the light awoke him. But there is no 
explanation as to what caused this light, or what it ap- 
peai'ed to emanate from ; which is a very strange omis- 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 361 

sion. The servant, apparently, perceived nothing un- 
usual until asked by his master what he saw ; and 
even then, so far as the narrative shows, he perceived 
no unnatural light It seems to me quite certain that 
there was no unnatural light in the room ; for if there 
had been, it would have been noticed, and stated what 
the light appeared to emanate from. I presume that 
this was another case of hallucination, produced by the 
action of one mind upon another ; the account of which 
is incorrectly given. 

^^ Apparition of a Str anger. ^^ 

This narrative was given Mr. Owen, in May, 1859, by 
Baron de Gruldenstubbe, brother of Mile, de Gulden- 
stubbe, who gave him the two inexplicable narratives 
entitled, *' Why a Livonian School-teacher lost her Situ- 
ation," and "The Cemetery of Ahrensburg ; " the for- 
mer of which, it will be recollected, Mr. Owen has 
thought proper to omit from the later editions of his 
work. 

" In March of the year 1854 the Baron de Gulden - 
stubbe was residing alone in apartments, at Number 23 
Rue St Lazare, Paris. On the 16th of that month, 
returning thither from an evening party, after midnight, 
he retired to rest ; but finding himself unable to sleep, 
he lit a candle and began to read. Very soon his atten- 
tion was drawn from the book by experiencing first one 
electric shock, then another, until the sensation was 
eight or ten times repeated. This greatly sui'prised him, 
and effectually precluded all disposition to sleep : he 
rose, donned a warm dressing-gown, and lit a fire in the 
adjoining saloon," 



362 MODERiir diabolism. 

Eeturning a few miimtes afterward to the bedroom 
for a pocket-liandkerchief, without a candle, the baron 
observed, just before the fireplace, what seemed like a 
dim column of grayish vapor, slightly luminous ; of 
which, however, he took no particular notice at the time. 
But, returning again, after a while, for a stick of wood, 
the appearance in front of the fireplace arrested his atten- 
tion. It reached nearly to the ceiling of the apart- 
ment, which was fully twelve feet high ; and its color 
had changed from gray to that shade of blue eshibited 
when spirits of wine are burned. As the baron gazed 
at it, the outlines of a human figure became visible. 

" Gradually the outlines of the figure became marked, 
the features began to assume exact form, and the whole 
to take the colors of the human flesh and dress. Finally, 
there stood within the column, and reaching about half 
way to the top, the figure of a tall, portly old man, with 
a fresh color, blue eyes, snow-white hair, tbin white 
whiskers, but without beard or mustache ; and dressed 
with some care. He seemed to wear a white cravat and 
long white waistcoat, high stiff shirt collar, and a long 
black frockcoat, thrown back from his chest, as is the 
wont of corpulent people like him in hot weather. He 
appeared to lean on a heavy white cane. After a few 
minutes, the figure detached itself from the column and 
advanced, seeming to float slowly through the room, 
till within about three feet of its wondering occupant. 
There it stopped, put up its hand, as if in form of salu- 
tation, and slightly bowed" 

" After a time the figure moved toward the bed, which 
was to the nght of the entrance-door and immediately 
opposite the fireplace, then turning to the left, returned 



y 



REVIEW OF NARRAriVES, 363 

to the spot before the fireplace, where it had first ap- 
peared, then advanced a second time toward the baron. 
And this round it continued to make (stopping, how- 
ever, at intervals) as often as eight or ten times. The 
baron heard no sound, either of voice or footstep. 

" The last time it returned to the fireplace, after facing 
the baron, it remained stationary there. By slow de- 
grees the outlines lost their distinctness ; and, as the 
figure faded, the blue colunm gradually reformed itself, 
inclosing it as before. This time, however, it was much 
more luminous — the light being sufficient to enable the 
baron to distinguish small print, as he ascertained by 
picking up a Bible that lay on his dressing-table and 
reading from it a verse or two. He showed me the 
copy : it was in minion type. Very gradually the light 
faded, seeming to flicker up at intervals, like a lamp 
dying out." 

The baron now concluded to go to bed again. In a 
dream, the same figure again appeared to him. It 
seemed to sit down on the side of the bed. and, to say 
to him, '• Hitherto you have not believed in the reality 
of apparitions, considering them only the recallings of 
memory : now, since you have seen a stranger, you can- 
not consider it the reproduction of former ideas." 

The next morning, on inquiring of the wife of the 
concierge, the baron learned that the last occupant of 
the apartments had died, about two years before, in the 
bed he now occupied ; and the woman's description of 
this individual corresponded in every respect, as to per- 
son, dress, and cane, with the apparition. The woman 
also stated that she had seen the same figure several 
times, in different places, and that a maid-servant had 



364 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

once seen it on tlie stairs. Finally, the daughter of the 
individual, whose appearance was seen, caused masses 
to be said for the soul of her father, since which, as al- 
leged, the apparition has not been seen. 

As the baron confirmed the narrative of the cemetery 
of Ahrensburg — occurrences which had taken place ten 
years previous — I cannot understand why this old gen- 
tleman considered him skeptical upon the subject of 
" spirits." 

This spirit differed from all others described in Mr. 
Owen's work in its mode of making itself visible to per- 
sons of our world ; and, while in some narratives it is 
stated that the spirit's footsteps could be heard as dis- 
tinctly as those of an individual of our world, in this 
case the baron heard not the slightest sound. 

As the baron stated that he had previously seen ap- 
paritions, and, "also, that before the appearance of this 
one he experienced several electric shocks, I might 
assume that this narrative did not conflict with my ex- 
planations of such phenomena. But, as my object is 
to make the phenomena understood, I feel bound to 
state that apparitions — such as are actually seen — are 
not produced as here represented. The baron's descrip- 
tion meets the views of Spiritualists, who believe the 
bodies of spirits to consist of attenuated matter, or ether, 
and that they have the power, either of changing this 
body so that it will be visible to us, or of clothing it with 
another body formed from matter of our world. And 
the intimation that the spirit was quieted by the per- 
formance of masses, agrees with the popular supersti- 
tion of Catholic countries. Masses would have no more 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES.' 865 

effect toward quieting the *' spirits " than *' Yankee 
Doodle " played on a hand-organ. 

I can only account for these marvelous stories of the 
de Guldenstubbes upon the supposition that, having 
a passion for telling " ghost-stories," they constructed 
these upon some slight foundation. They cannot be 
accounted for upon the supposition that these two per- 
sons were wonderful mediums ; for, in all three of the 
stories it is stated that the phenomena were "witnessed 
by others when they were not present. 

In reference to this last narrative, Mr. Owen says 
"The story derives much of its value from the calm 
and dispassionate manner in which the witness appears 
to have observed the succession of phenomena, and "the 
exact details which, in consequence, he has been enabled 
to furnish." This refers, I suppose, to the statement of 
the baron, that "He experienced little or no alarm, 
being chiefly occupied during the period of its stay in 
seeking to ascertain whether it was a mere hallucination 
or an objective reality." He was so calm that he picked 
up a Bible and read a verse or two, to ascertain how 
strong the light was ; but, although the figure came 
close to him eight or ten times, he did not touch it, or 
attempt to ; which would have shown him whether it 
was, or was not, an objective reality, the point he was 
calmly endeavoring to ascertain. This is rather absurd. 

It is not necessary that I should review the chapter 
on " Retribution," the purport of which is, that individu- 
als of the other world sometimes punish, or persecute 
those who have done them an injury before their death. 
As they frequently annoy those who have done them 



S6Q MODERN DIABOLISM. 

no injury, there is no reason to doubt that they some- 
times persecute such as have. The only reason that 
such persecutions are not more often experienced is, the 
lack of ability in those of the other world to inflict 
them. 

In opening the final chapter of narratives, which is 
on " Guardianship," Mr. Owen says : " A pleasanter 
task remains ; to speak, namely, of the indications that 
reach us of ultramundane aid and spiritual protection." 

Of course, with the knowledge of the subject which 
Mr. Owen has, and the views which he holds, he cannot 
discriminate, on this point, between those of the other 
world who produce the physical phenomena and com- 
municate through the mediums, and those who can do 
neither. This is the principal difference between his 
views and my own upon this point ; I believe that any 
connection with the former class is far from desirable. 
That the latter class has sometimes, though not veiy 
often, rendered valuable services to friends in our world, 
I readily admit. The narrative entitled " The Negro 
Servant " gives a remarkable instance of the kind; and 
why Mr. Owen has not placed it in this chapter, in pref- 
erence to some which are here, I cannot understand. 

There are in this chapter but two naiTatives relating 
to that class producing the physical phenomena ; and 
the reader shall be enabled to judge for himself how 
far these indicate " ultramundane aid and spiritual pro- 
tection." 

"Gaspar." 
About the year 1820 an English family were residing 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 367 

in France. One evening the father saw, enveloped in 
a large cloak and seated on a fragment of rock a few 
yards from the door, what he called a ghost ; and that 
night noises and disturbances similar to those described 
in the narratives on " hauntings," occurred in the liouse. 
After these annoyances had continued for several weeks, 
the family, as stated, became able to hear the " spirit " 
speak. He gave his nj^me as Gasjyar^ but refused to 
give any account of hiniselfj or to state why he had 
annoyed them, or, in short, what he wanted. He con- 
tinued with the family while they remained in France — 
a period of more than three yeiirs — followed tbem when 
they returned to England, and remained with them 
there several weeks, when he left them; assigning as 
a reason for leaving them, that harm would co,i:e to 
them if he communicated with them in England. 

While in France one of the children — a boy aged 
about twelve years — said, one evening, " ' Gaspar. I 
should like to see you ; ' to which the voice replied, 
' You shall see me. I will meet you if you go to the 
farthest side of the square.' He went, and returned 
presently, saying, ' I have seen Gaspar. He was in a 
large cloak, with a broad-brimmed hat. I looked un- 
der the hat, and he smiled upon ma' ' Yes,' said the 
voice, joining in, ' that was L' " 

On one occasion, while in France, the father was ex- 
tremely desirous to recover some valuable papers which 
he feared might have been lost "Gaspar told him 
exactly where they were, in our old house in Snffolk ; 
and there, sure enough, in the very place he designated, 
they were found." 

" He never spoke on subjects of a religious nature or 



868 MODEElSr DIABOLISM. 

tendency, but constantly inculcated Christian morality, 
seeming desirous to impress upon us the wisdom of vir- 
tue and the beauty of harmony at home. Once, when 
my sister and myself had some slight dispute, we heard 

the voice saying, ' M is wrong ; S is right.' 

From the time he first declared himself he was continu- 
ally giving us advice, and always for goody 

This narrative was given Mr. Owen, in writing, by 
Mr. S. C. Hall, of England, in June, 1859. Mr. Hall re- 
ceived the account the same year, orally, fi-om one of 
the daughters of the family, whom he accidentally met ; 
and he states that he gives the narrative as nearly as he 
can in the lady's words. It is proper to state that Mr. 
Hall is known as a Spiritualist; for some persons al- 
ways wish to be advised upon this point when a narra- 
tive of the kind is given. 

Nearly forty years, then, had elapsed between the 
date of these occurrences and their recital to Mr. Hall; 
and the latter repeated the narrative to Mr. Owen from 
recollection. " Spirits " are not now, in America, seen 
sitting on rocks ; they do not, when performing in a 
room, agree to show themselves if one of the party will 
go into the street ; nor can they talk so that several 
persons can hear them at the same time. I do not be- 
lieve that their powers were any greater forty or fifty 
years ago, in France, than at the present time in Amer- 
ica. This is, I believe, the only narrative in Mr. Owen's 
work in which it is stated that a number of individuals 
could, at the same time, hear the same spirit talk. In 
a narrative entitled " The Old Kent Manor-House " it 
is stated, that " every inmate of the house had been 
more or less disturbed at night — not usually during the 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 369 

day — by knockings and sounds as of footsteps, but 
more especially by voices which could not be accounted 
for. These last were usually heard in some unoccupied 
adjoining room ; sometimes as if talking in a loud tone, 
sometimes as if reading aloud, occasionally as if scream- 
ing." But, on reading the narrative through, it appears 

that only one individual in the house — a Miss S , a 

visitor "who "had been in the habit of seeing appari- 
tions" — ever understood a word that was spoken. It 
may reasonably be assumed, then, that the others heard 
only noises which they imagined to be voices. 

But, as indicating " spiritual protection," let it be 
assumed that this narrative of " Gaspar " is literally cor- 
rect. We have, then, an account of a "spirit" entering 
a house and alarming the family — disturbing their rest 
at night for several weeks — and, when able to commu- 
nicate, refusing to give any account of himself, or to 
explain why he had annoyed them ; giving, however, 
good advice, and inculcating Christian morality. What 
would be thought of an individual of our world who 
should take the same course? for there is scarcely a 
drunken wretch in the world that will not give plenty 
of good advice, and preach Christian morality. I think 
no one but a Spiritualist would desire such companion- 
ship as that of Oaspar, 

" The Rejected Suitor.'' 

Mr. and Mrs. W resided in England, not far from 

London. A short time previous to the date of the fol- 
lowing occurrences, an aged gentleman, who had resided 
with them about four years, died. 



370 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Mrs. "W. had been to some extent interested in tlie 
subject of Spiritualism, and had, on one or two occa- 
sions, held her hand, as writing mediums do, to see if 
the " spirits " would write with it ; and " a few unintel- 
ligible figures, or unimportant words " written, were the 
result. She went one morning into the garden, feeling 
much depressed on account of the death of her aged 
friend ; and had been there but a few minutes, when 
she felt a strong impulse to return to the house and 
write.* 

" The impulse to write gradually increasing, and at- 
tended with a nervous and uneasy sensation in the right 
arm, became so strong that she yielded to it ; and, re- 
turning to the house and picking up a sheet of note- 
paper and a small portfolio, she sat down on the steps 
of the front door, put the portfolio on her knee, with 
the sheet of note-paper across it, and placed her hand, 
with a pencil, at the upper left-hand corner, as one usu- 
ally begins to write. After a time the hand was grad- 
ually drawn to the lower right-hand corner, and began 
to write hackward ; completing the first line near the 
left-hand edge of the sheet, then commencing a second 
line, and finally a third, both on the right, and com- 
pleting the writing near to where she had first put down 
her pencil. Not only was the last letter in the sentence 
written first, and so on until the commencing letter was 
written last, but each separate letter was written back- 
ward, or inversely ; the pencil going over the lines 
which composed each letter from right to left. 

• I give the words of Mr. Owen, but it is evident from what fol- 
lows that the impulse was to let the " spirits " vmte. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES.. 371 

" Mrs. W. stated to me that (as may well be con- 
ceived) she had not the slightest perception of what her 
hand was writing ; no idea passing through her mind 
at the time. W hen her hand stopped, she read the sen- 
tence as she would have read what any other person 
had written for her. The handwriting was cramped 
and awkward, hut, as the fac-simile* will show, legible 
enough. The sentence read thus : — ' Ye are sorrowing 
as one ivithout hope. Cast thy burden upon God, and he 
will help theeJ' " 

Mrs. W. placed her pencil at the foot of the paper, 
that the " spirit " might subscribe its name — expecting 
the name of her aged friend to be given. 

" The event, however, wholly belied her expectation. 
The pencil, again drawn nearly to the right-hand edge 
of the paper, wrote, backward as before, not the ex- 
pected name, but the initials R Gr. D." 

These were the initials of a gentleman who, eighteen 
years before, had sought her in marriage, but whom she 
had rejected ; and the gentleman had died about six 
years previous, a bachelor. 

'• This occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 
1, 1859. A little more than a month afterward, to wit, 
on Monday, April 4, about four o'clock in the afternoon, 
while Mrs. "W. was sitting in her parlor, reading, she 
suddenly heard, apparently coming from a small side-ta- 
ble near her, three distinct raps. She listened ; and again 
there came the same sounds. Still uncertain whethei 
it might not be some accidental knocking, she said, ' If 



* Fac-similes of this, and a sentence written afterward, are given 
in Mr. Owen's work. 



872 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

it be a spirit wiio announces himself, will lie repeat the 
sound ? ' Whereupon the sounds were instantly and 
still more distinctly repeated ; and Mrs. W. became as- 
sured -that they proceeded from the side-table. 

" She then said, ' If I take pencil and paper, can I be 
informed who it is ? ' Immediately there were three 
raps, as of assent ; and when she sat down to write, lier 
hand, writing backward, formed the same initials as be- 
fore^E. G. D. Then she questioned, ' For what pur- 
pose were these sounds ? ' To which the reply, again 
written backward, was, ' To show you that we are think- 
ing and working for you.'' " 

Ten days after the last incident, Mrs. W., happening 
to recollect that R. G. D. had once given her a New- 
foundland dog, thought she would then like to have 
such an animal, and said to a servant who happened to 
be near, " I wish I had a fine large Newfoundland for 
a walking companion." The next morning a gentleman 
from a neighboring town, whom Mrs. W. did not remem- 
ber to have ever before seen, brought and presented to 
her a noble black Newfoundland dog ; stating as his 
reason for doing so, that he did not intend for the future 
to keep dogs, and that he felt assured that in Mrs. W. 
the dog would find a kind mistress. Mrs. W. stated 
that she had ascertained, to an absolute certainty, that 
the girl to whom she had spoken on the matter had not 
mentioned to any one her wish to have a dog. 

The foregoing is all there is of the narrative. It was 
communicated to Mr. Owen by Mrs. W. a few days after 
the occurrence of the last incident. 

The result, then, of the " thinking and working " of 
the spirits for a period of about six weeks, was the gift 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 373 

of a Newfoundland dog ; that is, assuming tliat this pre- 
sentation was brought about by them. People of our 
world can employ their time to better advantage. 

In reference to the ungrammatical construction of the 
sentence, "Ye are sorrowing as one without hope," 
Mr. Owen says : " If I am asked whence this error in 
the grammatical construction of the sentence, I reply 
that I can no more account for it than I can for the 
writing itself No one could write more correctly or 
grammatically than does Mrs. W. It was not through 
her, therefore, as in the case of an illiterate scribe we 
might have imagined it, that the error occurred. Its 
occurrence is additional proof that her mind had no 
agency in the matter; though it would probably be 
stretching conjecture too far to imagine that it was so 
intended." 

Yes, I should say that would be stretching conjecture 
rather too far ; and the bare suggestion shows how ready 
Spiritualists are to be deceived by the "spirits." Why 
not apply the same rule to the communications of 
" spirits " as to those of our world, and assume, in such 
a case, that the writing is by some ignorant creature ? 

Mrs. W. had been investigating Spiritualism; had 
held her arm, in a passive condition, for the purpose of 
having " spirits " write with it ; and, like all other me- 
diums, had some low being en rapport with her, who, in 
some way — probably from her mind — had learned the 
name of her late suitor. Mrs. W. assured Mr. Owen 
that she could not recollect having thought of the gen- 
tleman for several years previous to the occurrence ; but 
it would be very strange if she had not ; and a name 
very familiar occurs to the mind without producing any 



874 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

decided impression ; so tKat afterward we have no rec- 
ollection of having thought of it. 

Although Mr. Owen has doubts as to whether the 
error in the grammatical construction of the sentence 
was from design, he has none whatever as to the object 
of the *' spirit " in writing backward. He says: 

"Whence, again, the writing backward? In that 
the will had no agency. As little had expectation. 
Mrs. W., in her normal state, had not the power so to 
write. By diligent practice she might, doubtless, have 
acquired it But she had no such practice. She had 
not acquired it. And, not having acquired it, it was as 
much a physical impossibility for her, of herself, so to 
write, as for a man, picking up a violin for the first 
time, to execute thereon, at sight, some elaborate passage 
from Handel or Beethoven. 

" Again, whence the intention to write after so unex- 
ampled and impracticable a manner ? Where there is 
an intention there must be an intelligence. It was not 
Mrs. W. who intended ; for the result struck her with 
awe — almost with consternation. It was not her intel- 
ligence, therefore, that acted. What intelligence was it? 

" Nor can we reasonably doubt what the intention 
was. Had Mrs. W.'s hand written forward, she would, 
in all probability, have remained in uncertainty whether, 
half unconsciously perhaps, the words were not of her 
own dictation. The expedient of the backward writing 
precluded any such supposition ; for she could not of 
herself do unconsciously a thing which she could not 
do at aU. And this expedient seems to have been in- 
geniously devised to cut oif any supposition of the kind. 
Then here we have the invention of an expedient, the 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 875 

display of ingenuitj. But who is the inventor? Who 
displays the ingenuity ? I confess my inability to an- 
swer these questions." 

There was no ingenuity of the kind exercised. The 
invisible being wrote backward, or fi'oni right to left, 
solely because it was easier for him to write tlius than 
from left to right. I have explained this matter in the 
proper chapter. 

If these two narratives are not the only ones of the 
kind that Mr. Owen has been able to procure, we may 
assume that they are, in his opinion, the most convincing. 
We have, then, as instances of " ultramundane aid and 
spiritual protection" by such of the invisible world as 
can produce the physical phenomena, the good advice 
of Gaspar, after annoying the family for several weeks, 
and the gift of a Newfoundland dog. The ultramun- 
dane aid does not appear to be very valuable, even upon 
the assumption that this gift of a dog was owing to 
the influence of the "spirits." But, as the dog was 
brought on the morning succeeding the afternoon on 
which Mrs. W. felt a desire for one, and by a gentleman 
living in a neighboring town who had decided not to 
keep dogs, most persons will conclude, I think, that the 
gentleman had formed the determination to give her the 
dog before she expressed her wish for one, and, conse- 
quently, that the " spirits " had nothing to do with the 
gift. 

I will copy from this chapter one narrative showing, 
as I believe, good accomplished through the agency of 
a dream, or, of iinpressions, produced in an individual 
of our world by one of the invisible world, who could 
communicate in no other way. The following narrative 



376 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

I have read in a work by Eev. Dr. Bushnell, entitled 
" Nature and the Supernatural," from which Mr. Owen 
has taken it : 

" Help Amid the Snow-Drifts." 

" * As I sat by the fire, one stormy November night, 
in a hotel parlor, in the Napa Yalley of California, there 
Came in a most venerable and benignant-looking person, 
with his wife, taking their seats in the circle. The 
stranger, as I afterward learned, was Captain Yount, a 
man who came over into California, as a trapper, more 
than forty years ago. Here he has lived, apart from the 
great world and its questions, acquiring an immense 
landed estate, and becoming a kind of acknowledged 
patriarch in the country. His tall, manly person, and 
his gracious, paternal look, as totally unsophisticated 
in the expression as if he had never heard of a philo- 
sophic doubt or question in his life, marked him as the 
true patriarch. The conversation turned, I know not 
how, on spiritism and the modern necromancy ; and he 
discovered a degree of inclination to believe in the re- 
ported mysteries. His wife, a much younger and ap- 
parently Christian person, intimated that probably he 
was predisposed to this kind of faith by a very peculiar 
experience of his own, and evidently desired that he 
might be drawn out by some intelligent discussion of 
his queries. 

" ' At my request he gave me his story. About six 
or seven years previous, in a mid-winter's night, he had 
a dream in which he saw what appeared to be a com- 
pany of emigrants arrested by the snows of the moun- 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 377 

tains atid perisliing rapidly by cold and hunger. He 
noted the very cast of the scenery, marked by a huge 
perpendicular front of white rock cliflF; he saw the men 
cutting off what appeared to be tree-tops rising out of 
deep gulfs of snow ; he distinguished the very features 
of the persons and the look of their particular distress. 
He woke profoundly impressed with the distinctness 
and apparent reality of his dream. At length he fell 
asleep and di'eamed exactly the same dream again. In 
the morning he could not expel it from his mind. Fall- 
ing in, shortly, with an old hunter comrade, he told him 
the story, and was only the more deeply impressed by 
his recognizing, without hesitation, the scenery of the 
dream. This comrade had come over the Sierra by the 
Carson Yalley Pass, and declared that a spot in the pass 
answered exactly to his description. By this the unso- 
phisticated patriarch was decided. He immediately col- 
lected a company of men with mules and blankets and 
all necessary provisions. The neighbors were laughing, 
meantime, at his credulity. "No matter,"' said he: ''I 
am able to do this, and I will ; for I verily believe that 
the fact is according to my dream." The men were sent 
into the mountains, one hundred and fifty miles distant, 
directly to the Carson Valley Pass. And there they 
found the company in exactly the condition of the 
dream, and brought in the remnant alive.' 

" Dr. Bushnell adds, that a gentleman present said to 
him, ' You need have no doubt of this ; for we Califor- 
nians all know the facts and the names of the families 
brought in, who now look upon our venerable friend as 
a kind of Savior.' These names he gave, together with 
the residences of each ; and Dr. Bushnell avers that he 



578 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

found the Galifornians ever jAArhere ready to second tlie 
old man's testimony. ' Nothing could be more natural, ' 
continues the doctor, ' than for the good-hearted patri- 
arch himself to add that the brightest thing in his life, 
and that which gave him the greatest joy, was his sim- 
ple faith in that dream.' " 

Had the facts been, simply, that Captain Yount, in a 
winter's night, dreamed that a party of emigrants were 
perishing in the snows of the mountains, and it was 
afterward learned that such a party were thus perishing 
at the time of the dream, the coincidence might reason- 
ably be considered accidental, for both the dream and 
the fact would be events likely to occur. But, in this 
case, peculiar scenery, which he had never seen, was 
presented to the dreamer's vision so distinctly and cor- 
rectly that another person recognized the description as 
being that of a certain spot which he had seen ; and the 
emigrants were found- at this precise spot. This is not 
all ; exactly the same dream was repeated — which is 
very unusual in the case of natural dreams — and the 
impression made upon the dreamer was so great that it 
induced -him to send, at considerable expense, a rescu- 
ing party to a spot one hundred and fifty miles distant 
I do not believe that a dream occurring from ordinary 
causes would have such an effect; assuming that the 
dreamer was of sound mind. 

This dream could not have been produced by the 
action of the mind of one of the emigrants upon that of 
Captain Yount; for it appears that the party were all 
strangers to him ; besides, the dream would not, prob- 
ably, have been repeated from such a cause. As the 
narrative appears to be authenticated beyond reasonable 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 379 

question, I believe the dream to have been produced by 
a being of the other world. The vision, it will be ob- 
served, differed entirely from those narrated by Captain 
Norway and Captain Clarke. There was no long-con- 
tinued succession of events, lasting through a consider- 
able interval of time, presented to the mental vision of 
Captain Yount ; all that he perceived might have been 
the impression of a moment. It is hardly necessary 
to state that this narrative is far better authenticated 
than the two others referred to. 

The attempt to produce such an impression may 
have been, and probably was, made with a number of 
individuals before success crowned the effort. Dr. 
Bushnell's decription of Captain Yount conveys the 
idea of a susceptible person. The effort of the invisible 
being would not cease with the production of the dream. 
The influence upon the mind of Captain Yount, ac- 
quired while he was asleep, was, undoubtedly, continued 
until he sent the rescuing party ; and this explains his 
extraordinary action. 

Now, those of the other world able to produce the 
physical phenomena, and communicate at any time 
through mediums, have been in daily communication 
with our world for the past twenty years ; and yet, 
during all this time they have not done as much good 
as was accomplished by this dream. In fact, I have 
been unable to learn of a single well -authenticated in- 
stance of substantial benefit conferred by the class re- 
ferred to, or by communication through a medium. 

But the instances of annoyance by this class are nu- 
merous ; several instances of the kind being given in 
Mr. Owen's work ; and the use of the electricity of an 



380 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

individual of our world, in the production of the phe- 
nomena is, in itself, a positive and serious injury to the 
individual. The mediums for the production of these 
phenomena, so far as I have information, universally 
complain of poor health. 

It here occurs to me that before closing my review 
of this work, it may be well to make a few remarks 
relative to the last narrative; and having a bearing 
upon the whole subject. 

Some of my readers may have read the work of Dr. 
Bushnell ; others may have seen reviews of it ; and 
those not inclined to belief in the supernatural may con- 
clude the credulity of Dr. Bushnell is such that he is 
very poor authority for any narrative of the kind. 

There is no more coincidence between the views of 
Dr. Bushnell and nay own, than between those of the 
former and the most sceptical (in reference to this whole 
subject) individual living. In fact, his explanation — if 
it can properly be called such — of this very narrative, 
differs entirely from that I have given. In reference to 
it he says : 

"Let any one attempt now to account for the coinci- 
dences of that dream by mere natural causalities, and 
he will be glad enough to ease his labor by the acknowl- 
edgment of a supernatural Providence." 

In short. Dr. Bushnell believes it was a miracle; 
though why a miracle should have been performed in 
this case, and not in thousands of other similar ones, he 
does not attempt to explain. Without discussing this 
question, I feel bound to state, after reading Dr. Bush- 
nell's work, and especially the chapter headed, "Mir- 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 381 

acles and Spiritual Gifts not Discontinued," from which 
the above narrative is taken, that if we were obhged to 
relj upon his judgment for the authenticity of the nar- 
rative, I should not think of citing it But I endeavor 
to discriminate, by the use of my own judgment, between 
authentic and fictitious narratives; and all I ask of the 
reader is, that he will do the same. To show that this 
is not, in most cases, so very difficult, I will copy from 
Dr. Bushnell's work a narrative immediately following 
that of Captain Yount 

" I fell in, also, in that new world, with a difierent 
and more directly Christian example, in the case of an 
acquaintance whom I had known for the last twenty 
years ; an educated man in successful -practice as a phy- 
sician ; a man who makes no affectations of piety, and 
puts on no airs of sanctimony ; living always in a kind of 
jovial element, and serving everybody but himself He 
laughs at the current incredulity of men respecting prayer, 
and relates many instances, out of his own experience, 
to show — for that is his doctrine — that God will cer- 
tainly hear every man's prayer, if only he is honest in 
it Among others, he gave the following: — He had 
hired his little house, of one room, in a new trading 
town that was planted last year, agreeing to give a rent 
for it of ten dollars per month. At length, on the day 
preceding the rent day, he found that he had nothing in 
hand to meet the payment, and could not see at all 
whence the money was to come. Consulting with his 
wife, they agreed that prayer, so often tried, was their 
only hope. They went, accordingly, to prayer, and 
found assurance that their want should be supplied. 
That was the end of their trouble, and there they rested^ 



382 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

dismissing fiirtlier concern. But the morning came, 
and the money did not. The rent owner made his ap- 
pearance earlier than usual. As he entered the door, 
their hearts began to sink, whispering that now, for 
once, they must give it up, and allow that prayer had 
failed. But before the demand was made, a neighbor 
coming in called out the untimely visitor, engaging him 
in conversation a few minutes at the door. Meantime 
a stranger came in, saying, * Dr. I'owe you ten dol- 
lars for attending me in a fever at such a time, and here 
is the money.' He could muster no recollection either 
of the man or of the service, but was willing to be con- 
vinced, and so had the money in hand, after all, when 
the demand was made." 

Let us assume, as I think we may, that the veracity 
of Dr. Bushnell is not to be questioned. The circum- 
stances stated in Captain Yount's narrative — ^with the 
exception of the dream — must, if they occurred, have 
been generally known throughout the vicinity. Dr. 
Bushnell states that they were known, as he ascertained. 
The only question then is, whether Captain Yount sent 
the rescuing party in consequence of a dream. Dr. 
Bushnell omits to state whether he conversed with any 
of the neighbors who laughed at the credulity of Cap- 
tain Yount in fitting out an expedition upon the im- 
pulse of a dream. But how could the situation of the 
emigrants have become known to Captain Yount through 
any ordinary channel ? If one or more of the emigrants 
had succeeded in getting through, or if any other indi- 
vidual had arrived through the pass and reported the 
situation, the fact would have been known to other Cali- 
fornians. In short, the circumstances did occur as 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 883 

stated, or Dr. Bushnell is not a man of common ve- 
racity. 

Let us now examine the story of the physician ; for 
which there is no corroborating testimony. The practice 
of the physician was, at the time, so small that he was 
obliged to hire a house of only one room, at a rent of 
ten dollars per month, and was unable to pay even that 
amount. Yet, according to his story, he had attended 
a man through a fever without having any recollection 
of the fact; and, which is still more incredible, he could 
not recollect having attended the man after the latter 
called on him and stated the fact ; and had, as it ap- 
pears, no charge against the patient on his books. Such 
an instance never occurred ; not even with a physician 
of the largest practice. Besides, how could the man 
have known, or assumed, without making the inquiry, 
that he owed the physician just ten dollars? Setting 
aside altogether the question of miracles, the stoiy is an 
utterly absurd one. And look at the character of the 
nan-ator. He stated that he could, at any time, get 
whatever he wanted by praying for it. Everj- one of 
common sense knows that this was false ; and knows, 
therefore, that the man was a liar or a fool. 

But what I wish more particularly to point out is, 
that if we reject the narrative of Captain Yount, we 
must impeach the veracity of Dr. Bushnell ; while in re- 
jecting that of the physician, we only doubt the sound- 
ness of his judgment as to the character of the narrator. 

The accounts of apparitions which I have taken from 
Mr. Owen's work, I have treated as having been merely 
instances of hallucination. But in " Explanations of 



384 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

Phenomena," I have stated that it was possible for those 
of the other world to produce a tangible apparition — 
one that could be actually seen and felt ; that is, that 
a dress and mask, originally invisible to us, could be 
made visible and sensible to the touch. Mr, Owen's work 
does not contain a narrative which I feel fully warranted 
in citing as an instance of this kind ; I will, therefore, 
take such from another work. 

In the London Spiritvul Magazine^ a monthly publi- 
cation, I iind the correspondence — including extracts 
from the diary — of a gentleman residing in New York. 
The name of the gentleman is not here given ; but as, 
since the publicatiori of this correspondence, it has been 
given — ^presumably with the assent of the gentleman — 
in at least two works, there would be no propriety in 
my withholding such a voucher for the truth of the 
accounts. The author of the correspondence, then, is 
Mr. C F. Li verm ore,* late of the well-known banking- 
house of Livermore, Clews & Co. 

The correspondence appears to have been carried on 
for several years. When it commenced, or when Mr. 
Livermore commenced his investigations, I do not know ; 

* I would here state — and I intend to be very guarded in state- 
ments of this kind — that the fuU name was given me by my invis- 
ible informants when writing the former work. I have no acquaint- 
ance with Mr. Livermore, and never, to my knowledge, ever saw 
him ; the banking-house having been organized about the time I 
left New York. And until the name was thus given me, I had never 
heard that he was interested in Spiritualism. It was not until some 
time — I think at least a year — after the name was given me, that I 
learned it was the correct one. I mention this to show how gener- 
ally extraordinary occurrences of this kind are known in the other 
world; and also as in some measure a voucher that my informants 
know how these apparitions were produced. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 385 

but I find it stated in a letter dated, " New York, March 
17, 1862," that success " only crowned months of pa 
tient watching." The medium for the production of 
these apparitions was Miss Fox. How often, during 
these months, Mr. Livermore sat with Miss Fox for the 
purpose, is not stated ; but I infer from subsequent cor- 
respondence that they sat at least once every week, and 
during some weeks oftener. Mr. Livermore, then, sat, 
by direction of the "spirits," with the same medium — 
an excellent one for the purpose — at least once a week 
for several months before he witnessed an apparition. 
Evidently, these apparitions must have been of a difi'er 
ent character from those I have considered hallucina- 
tions. 

I have before me the number of the Magazine for 
January, 1866, from which I will give a few extracts. 
As Mr. Livermore had been sitting with Miss Fox for 
several years, it may be assumed that the invisible beings 
would have their materials and ai-rangements for pro- 
ducing the phenomena perfected as far as possible. 

In explanation of the following letter, it is stated that 
Mr. Livennore first met the lady (called Estelle) who 
became his wife, at Baden-Baden, in the year 1851. In 
the summer of 1865 Mr. Livermore was again at Ba- 
den-Baden, his wife having in the meantime died; 
and he happened to occupy the same room that Estelle 
occupied when he first met her. When in London, on 
his way home, he mentioned the incident to Mr. Cole- 
man, author of a work from which I have given an ex- 
tract in the chapter on " Modern Spiritualism ; " and Mr. 
Coleman suggested that Mr. Livermore should, on his 
return home, make the circumstance a test as to the 



386 MOUERN DIABOLISM. 

identity of Estelle with the apparition which, had fre- 
quently appeared to him, claiming to be her. 

" New Yoee, Noyember 20th, 1865-. 

" My Deae Mr. Coleman : — You will no donbt be 
interested to learn that my first spiritual manifestation 
since my return from Europe was in my own house, 
in the presence of Dr. Gray,* and resulted in the tan- 
gible, real, visible presence of my wife in my own room, 
where there could by no possibility have been any other 
persons than Dr. Gray, the medium, and mysell This 
was on Friday evening, November 10th, 1865, 

" The atmosphere was moderately electrical, cold and 
overcast. The medium and Dr. Gray having called to 
see me, we determined to have a sitting in a room up- 
stairs, there being no persons in the house but the 
servants, who were three flights below. The door was 
carefully locked, and after seating ourselves at. the table 
in the middle of the room I turned out the gas. In 
about fifteen minutes a spirit-light rose from the floor 
on the side of the table opposite to the medium, and 
after describing a semicircle over and above the table 
three times consecutively, it rested upon Dr. Gray's 
head and disappeared. The medium and myself were 
then requested to stand up. Upon our doing so the light 
again made its appearance between us and the window, 
pressing us back a little, as though to give it more 
room. Vigorous rustlings succeeded this movement, 
and the next instant the figure of my wife stood before 
us, holding a single flower in her hand, with every 

• A physician aiid proioment Spintualist odT New York. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 387 

feature radiant, and vividly visible. She was dressed 
in white gossamer, which enveloped her head, a trans- 
parent veil falling just before her right eye, but thrown 
back. The veil was subsequently removed altogether. 
Her dresj, or robe, was carefully plaited around the 
neck, but with that exception it was loose and flowing. 
It was of thicker material than that about her head, 
and seemed to be of the texture of silk and gossamer. 
As Dr. Gray was seated during this time (we standing 
between him and the spirit), he saw only the light and 
drapery as she came and glided away, which she did 
five or six times during a period of about three-quarters 
of an hour. For some cause unknown to me, the spirit 
could not on this occasion remain visible to me when 
Dr. Gray approached. 

"You will, perhaps, remember a suggestion you 
made to me in London, that upon my return I should 
make cei*tain interesting circumstances which occm-red 
to me on the Continent, the subject of a spiritual test 
I am happy to say that it has been done with a most 
satisfactory result I had mentioned the circumstances 
to no one on this side of the ocean. At a second seance 
two days after that which I have just described, I ap- 
plied the test as follows : — I wrote two questions with- 
out the medium's knowledge. The questions and 
answers were as follows : 

" ' My Dear Wife : — I desire you this morning to 
write me a word about your appearance on Friday 
night last, also something in reference to the interesting 
circumstance now on my mind, which occurred on the 
Continent during my last visit to Europe*' 



388 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

" Answer (written on a card by the spirit) : 

" ' My Dear Husband : — I was most happy to come 
to you in form in our own house. It gave me joy 
greater than words can express. The next time I wish 
to wear a different dress — one entirely covered with 
violets and roses, so that you may perfectly see their 
color. I was with you at Baden-Baden, and saw your 
thoughts of me while there. T was very near you — as 
near as at the time when I there promised to be yours 
forever. I was near you when this thought came. I 
heard the echo go forth from your heart, and my spirit 
was drawn at once to your side. Sacred memories are 
attached to that place. Do you remember, dear Charles, 
how happy we both were then ? Be happy now, for I 
am ever near you. 

"'ESTELLE.'" 

I give this " test," which Mr. Livermore thought 
"most satisfactory," and which is as satisfactory as any 
I have seen in the correspondence, for the purpose of 
showing what evidence — aside from the resemblance — he 
had that the apparition was his wife. If the " spirit " 
was unable to read his mind she could not have Imown 
what was on his mind, o* what the question referred to. 
If she could read his mind the question was, of course, 
no test at all. But the " spirit " stated that she could, 
and did at Baden-Baden, perceive his thoughts ; that is, 
she saw them, and heard the echo of one go forth from his 
heart. It is not easy to understand how any sane 
man could consider this a test of identity, but it is a 
very fair sample of the tests generally instituted by 
Spiritualists. 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 389 

' ^Extracts from Diary. First evening : — Cold and clear. 
A briglit fire was burning in the grate. I turned the 
gas down partially, but still sufficient to make all ob- 
jects distinctly visible. I then opened the table about 
six inches in the middle, placing a large musical box 
across one side, and the table-cover across the other, 
leaving an opening of about six inches square in the 
centre. After a few minutes a white fleshy hand rose, 
pointing its fingers upward through this opening. A 
snow-white envelope encircled it from the wrist down- 
ward. It was natural in shape, size, and color. A few 
moments elapsed, when the hand again made its appear- 
ance, but now held a flower, which, with its stem, was 
about three inches in length. I reached out my hand 
to touch it, and the instant it came in contact with the 
flower there was a snap, like the discharge of electricity. 
By request I now tm-ned up the gas, making tlie room 
fully light. The hand again rose, holding the flower, 
whicli it placed upon a sheet of white paper which I had 
placed next the opening. I lifted the paper and exam- 
ined the flower, whicli was to all appearance a lovely 
pink rose-bud, with green leaves. Miss Fox took it in 
her fingers and held it up for examination. It was 
damp, cold, and glutinous. As expressions of dissatis- 
faction, from the unseen agents of this wonder, were here 
manifested, she replaced the flower upon the paper, when 
the hand rose, seized and took it away instantly. Va- 
rious flowers of diflferent sizes, shapes, and colors were 
presented. One was a small white flower, like a daisy. 
By raps it was said, ' Obey directions ; you wither the 
flowers by your touch.' " 



890 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

'■'■ Third evening : — Cold and clear. The spirit-light 
soon rose, divided into two, and discovered before us 
standing the beautiful spirit-form of my wife, so often 
described. She was vividly visible, but differently 
dressed from her usual style, apparently typical of 
something which I did not understand. A kind of 
turban was wreathed about the head, of gossamer and 
gold, sparkling with bright points, like diamonds, her 
head resting upon her right hand. 

"After remaining visible for some time, we crossed 
the room, when she again appeared, similarly dressed. 
The shining head-dress was entirely new. After she 
had disappeared the light floated about, as answering 
questions by rapid circular motions. The light then 
rose near to the ceiling, describing revolutions the re- 
verse of its previous motions. At times these revolu- 
tions described circles of six to eight feet in diameter. 
I asked that the light might pass around us, which was 
immediately done with great rapidity. 

" A large roll of drawing paper was taken up during 
these gyrations and carried with the light The light 
itself, as well as the envelope, was heard occasionally to 
strike against the table or ceiling with considerable 
force, as it passed about." 

^^Fourih evening : — Cold and overcast, with threatened 
storm. Shortly after the gas was turned out heavy 
rustlings were heard, a brilliant electric light rose, and 
the well-known countenance of Dr. Franklin beamed 
upon us. No words can convey an idea of the calm, 
peaceful serenity, the dignity, the spirituality which 
shone out from that face. Although I have so oftea 



REVIEW OF NARRAITVES. 391 

before seen it, yet on this occasion I was more than 
ever impressed, tor his every feature was radiant. The 
light was very powerful, rendering him distinctly vis- 
ible. He appeared in four different parts of the room, 
and each time differently draped, or dressed. My hat, 
which had been left upon the bureau, was worn by him 
a portion of the time, and then taken from his head in 
fall view, and placea upon mine by the spirit. Imme 
diately afterward, while my hat was still upon my 
head, he was seen wearing a three-cornered hat, a ruffled 
shirt, white neckerchief without a collar, his gray hair 
behind the ears. He was enveloped in a dark robe, 
which passed down by the side of his face, partially 
shielding that side, and was drawn across his breast 
about six or eight inches below the chin. This mantle 
I examined both by sight and touch, and found that it 
resembled in fabric rather coarse dark flannel or worsted 
stuff Beneath this his dress was perfect, the cravat and 
ruffler were spotless white, and the vest and coat real, 
for I pulled aside the mantle with my own hand. His 
face was like the crystallization of expression, the ex- 
pression changing during the intervals of invisibility. 
The formation being instant and temporary, no doubt 
lacks the nerves and muscles of the human physical 
organization, and hence can of necessity only exhibit 
one attitude, or phase of expression, for each crystalli- 
zation (or naturalization) during which the features and 
expression are en permanence.^' 

" Sixth evening: — Atmosphere clear. A bright coal 
fire and gas burning, the latter about half turned off. 
*' Opened the table about the rndth of six to eight 



S92 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

inclies. Soon a white female liand rose through the 
opening ; answered my questions by significant move- 
ments. It touched my own hand, took hold of my fin- 
gers, etc. I placed my handkerchief upon a large mu- 
sical box on the table. The hand rose, grasped it, and 
carried it away. This hand was at times amorphous, 
or clumsily shaped. Again it would appear perfect, or 
more nearly so. At times the fingers were widely 
spread, seemingly stiff, and moving with difficulty ; 
again flexible and natural. It was fleshy in color and 
to' the touch, but unnaturally white. I did not see it 
beyond the wrist. I had frequently, by the spirit-light, 
seen that the formation ended at the mist." 

" Seventh evening : — Weather clear and cold. At the 
conclusion of a message, a light rose from the floor, dis- 
covering to us the spirit of my wife standing before us 
in all her beauty. My hat was asked for to shield the 
light. I held it with the opening toward the spirit, the 
light 'being shaken quickly inside the hat (by the spirit) 
threw out brilliant radiations until her face was radiant. 
A delicate veil of gossamer (white) depended from above 
her forehead, which we took in our hands for examina- 
tion. I held it myself before her face, found it transpa- 
rent, and of such delicate tissue that it heightened her 
beauty, and made her seem still more ethereal. We 
now crossed the room to a sofa. The spirit said (by 
raps), 'I wish to recline on the sofa.' Loud rustlings 
and movements were heard, when we found that a sofa- 
pillow, forming one end of the sofa, was in the process 
of being detached, and afterward we saw it placed on 
end m the corner of the sofa, against which she was now 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 393 

seen reclining. We bent over, and examined with great 
care her face and dress. The dress was white, a narrow 
ribbon was across her forehead, over which was a small 
white rose, a bunch of violets over her left temple, and 
a pink rose behind her ear. Her hair fell loosely, so 
that I took locks of it and placed it over the white robe, 
which I also took hold of and examined carefully. It 
was neatly trimmed with a narrow rujBfle, and plaited in 
front." 

When the gas was lighted, Estelle, as Mr. Livermore 
believed it to be, invariably got under the table ; yet, so 
far as I have read the correspondence, it does not ap- 
pear that Mr. Livermore ever inquired the reason for 
such a strange proceeding ; and it is a remarkable fact, 
that I never knew a Spiritualist who appeared to think 
it at all strange that the spirits, when certain phenom- 
ena are produced, get under a table if the room is 
lighted. 

It will be perceived from the descripti(m of the face 
supposed to be that of Dr. Franklin, that nothing but 
dead matter — in other words, nothing but masks — were 
seen by Mr. Livermore, whether these masks were pro- 
duced as I have stated, or not This being the fact, the 
reader can draw his own conclusions as to the extraor- 
dinary beauty of the one claiming to be his wife, and 
" the calm, peaceful serenity, the dignity, the spiritual- 
ity whicn shone out from the face " of Dr. Franklin. 

In the production of these phenomena several of the 
other world were engaged ; and the hands seen on the 
sixth evening, which vaiied in appearance, were cover- 
ings of the hands of different individuals, some of which 



394 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

had been more perfectly prepared than others. The 
lights, which Mr. Livermore sometimes calls spirit-lights, 
and at other times electric lights, were produced by a 
substance somewhat resembling phosphorus. This sub- 
stance in its normal condition is not luminous to us ; 
but becomes so when it has undergone the change de- 
scribed. As the masks will not bear critical inspec- 
tion, the " spirits " prefer exhibiting by a light which is 
under their own control ; and besides, these phosphores- 
cent lights do not so readily disclose the fact that the 
features are masks as would gas-light. 

Since the publication of my formei work, from which 
the precedmg portion of this chapter is copied — with a 
few unimportant alterations, mainly for the purpose of 
condensation — Mr. Owen has published another work 
upon the same subject, entitled, " The Debatable Land 
between this World and the Next." This work, also, 
contains numerous narratives, which I think it unneces- 
sary to notice, as they do not vary in character from 
those in the former one. It contains, however, two 
instances of tangible apparitions witnessed by Mr. Owen 
himself, in the presence of Mrs. Underhill (sister of Miss 
Fox) and a Boston medium. The figures produced 
were not, however, so perfect, or distinct, as those seen 
by Mr. Livermore, and Mr. Owen did not perceive the 
features at all, these being concealed in both instances. 
No further information upon the subject would be 
given the reader, therefore, by copying the narratives, 
which are rather lengthy. 

But Mr. Owen was permitted by Mr. Livermore to 
read the latter's record, or diary of phenomena, witnessed 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 895 

by him, and copies from it, in his last work, some item» 
which, as I think, show conclusively that the features 
of the apparitions were simply masks. I will take 
from Mr. Owen's work a few of these extracts. 

" ' No. 179. At my own house. I had procured a 
dark lantern, covered with a cloth-casing, and provided 
with a valve, so that I could throw a circle of light two 
feet in diameter on a wall ten feet distant. 

" ' I placed this lantern, lighted, on the table, and 
held the medium's hands. Soon it rose into the air, 
and we were requested to follow. A form, carrying the 
lantern, preceded us. The outline of this spirit-forra 
was distinct, its white robes dropping to the floor. The 
lantern was placed on a bureau, and we stood facing a 
window which was between that bureau and a large 
mirror. 

" ' Then the lantern again rose, remaining suspended 
about five feet from the floor between the bureau and 
the mirror, and by its light we discerned the figure of 
Franklin seated in my arm-chair by the window, in front 
of a dark curtain. For fully ten minutes at a time the 
light from the suspended lantern rested on his face and 
figure, so that we had ample time to examine both. At 
first the face seemed as if of actual flesh, the hair real, the 
eyes bright and so dictinct that I clearly saw the whites ; 
but I noticed that gradually the whole appearance, in- 
cluding the eyes, was deadened by the earthly light, 
and cease 1 to wear the aspect of life with which the 
forms I had seen by spiritual light were replete.' " 

This face, then, would not bear examination even by 
the light of a lantern. The only question is, Was a 
living face, " including the eyes," gradually deadened 



B96 MODEKN DIABOLISM. 

by the " earthly light," or did the observer gradually 
notice that it was not a living face ? It appears to me 
to be a question which no man of common sense can 
hesitate a moment in deciding. 

During the earlier sittings of Mr. Livermore only 
himself and the medium were present ; but Mr. Owen 
states that he has recorded ten sittings at which Dr. 
Grray was present, and eight at which his (Mr. L.'s) 
brother-in-law, Mr. Groute, assisted. 

" The first opportunity he " (Dr. Gray) " had of join- 
ing Mr. Livermore's circle was during sitting No. 256, 
of June 6, 1862. On that occasion the figure of Dr. 
Franklin appeared, but evidently with difficulty, and 
without the full expression which he had previously 
worn. The hair, however, and clothing were both 
nearly as usual, and were handled by Dr. Gray. 

" Eleven days later Dr. Gray was present a second 
time. On this occasion the -figure of Dr. Franklin 
showed itself several times ; but the features, at first, 
were not recognizable, and, on another occasion, a por- 
tion of the face only was formed, presenting a deformed 
and disagreeable aspect This had not occurred during 
any of Mr. Livermore's previous sittings. Estelle did 
not show herself on either of these occasions. 

" The third time (June 25) the figure of Franklin ap- 
peared in perfection, and was recognized by Dr. Gray. 

" During the fourth sitting there was a message to 
the effect that a piece of the spirit's garment might be 
cut off with scissors and examined. Both Dr. Gray and 
Mr. Livermore availed themselves of this permission. 
For a time the texture was strong, so that it might be 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 397 

pulled without coming apart Thej both had time to 
examine it critically before it melted away." 

" Dr. Gray related to me a still more interesting ob- 
servation. On one of the last occasions that the figure 
of Franklin presented itself, the face appeared, at first, 
imperfectly formed, showing one eye only ; for, in place 
of the other eye and part of the cheek, there was a 
dark cavity which looked hideous enough. Kate Fox 
caught sight of it and screamed out in mortal terror, 
causing the temporary extinguishment of the light un- 
der which the figure appeared." 

"This was during one of the last sittings at which Dr. 
Gray assisted. On several of the earliest occasions, as 
the doctor informed me, the face, though distinctly 
marked, seemed sometimes shriveled and as if made of 
dough, at other times it resembled the face of a corpse." 

These extracts are sufficient, I think, to indicate the 
character of these apparitions. In reference to them 
Mr. Owen advances the following theory : 

" The evidence I have adduced goes to show that a 
spirit may — under certain conditions, and aided, proba- 
bly, by other spirits — fabricate an ephemeral eidolon^ 
resembling the body it had while on earth ; but evanes- 
cent, especially under earth-light ; so that the poet's line, 

'It faded at the crowing of the cock,' 

is in strict accordance with the character of the actual 
phenomenon. 

"By what process this temporary induement (if it 
be correct to regard it as an induement) is effected, we 
certainly do not know at this time ; and perhaps we 



398 MODEEN DIABOLISM. 

never shall until we learn it, on the other side, from the 
spiritual artists themselves. All that one seems justified 
in surmising is that there are invisible exudations from 
the human organization — more or less from all yjersons, 
but especially from the bodies of spiritual sensitives — 
which spirits can condense, or otherwise modify, so as 
to produce not only what to the senses of human beings 
is a visible and tangible form, but also substances re- 
sembling earthly clothing and other inanimate objects." 

But if Dr. Franklin was one of these " spiritual art- 
ists," and communicated for years with Mr. Livermore, 
why should it be necessary to surmise anything upon 
the subject? Who, better than Dr. Kanklin, could 
explain the phenomena ? assuming, as Spiritualists do, 
that Franklin has not lost any of his mental powers. 
This is one of the strangest facts connected with Spir- 
itualism, namely, that men of the intellectual culture of 
Mr. Owen believe that the most intelligent of the other 
world can communicate with us, and yet cannot, or will 
not explain a single phenomenon which they are the 
agents in producing. A very few words from Dr 
Franklin, if he was the -'artist," would have explained, 
so far as was essential, how he presented to Mr. Liver- 
more the figure of himself. 

The theory that the spirits can manufacture from the 
invisible exudations of human beings cloth like that 
described by Mr. Livermore and Dr. Gray, appears to 
me an absurdity. But assuming that these apparitions 
were produced as Mr. Owen surmises, it is very evident 
that most of those which I have treated as hallucina- 
tions could not have been produced in the same manner, 



REVIEW OF narrative's. 899 

and, therefore, could not have been of the same char- 
acter. 

To suppose that all the apparitions described in Mr. 
Owen's two works were of the same character ; that the 
wife of Mr. Livermore communicated with him for 
years without giving any satisfactory evidence of the 
identity, always getting under the table when the room 
was lighted ; that Dr. Franklin also visited him for 
years without explaining anything or giving any valu- 
able information, would make the whole subject an 
incomprehensible mystery. But if we assume that most 
of the apparitions were hallucinations ; that those seen 
by Mr. Livermore were tangible figures, though not 
produced by his wife or Dr. Franklin, then the whole 
matter becomes intelligible. 

Mr. Owen's first work contains about sixty narratives, 
which he considers well authenticated. Of these there 
arc nine, of which I have given the substance, which 
conflict more or less with the theories I have given. 
Three of these nine were given at least half a century 
after the occurrences took place by parties who did not 
witness them. Two were given by a Captain Clarke, 
whose character for veracity Mr. Owen appears to have 
known nothing about. One purporting to be given 
by another sea captain was taken from a compar 
atively unknown work. One was given by a Mile, de 
Guldenstubbe, who, for reasons stated, cannot be con- 
sidered good authority for the minute accuracy — which 
is the important point — of a narrative of the kind. 
The remaining two were given by the Baron de Gulden- 



400 MODERN DIABOLISM. 

stubbe and Mr. S. C. Hall. The former of these does 
not conflict with, the theories, assuming that the baron 
was, like Miss Fox, a suitable medium for the produc- 
tion of these figures. But it does not appear that he 
ever before or afterward witnessed anything of the kind, 
or any physical phenomena, for the production of which 
he appeared to be the medium. The only difficulty I 
find in the narrative given by Mr. Hall is the manner 
in which " Gaspar " is represented as having exhibited 
himself, and the statement that any one could hear him 
talk. This narrative was given Mr. Hall about forty 
years after the events occurred, who repeated it to Mr. 
Owen from recollection. It could hardly be expected, 
therefore, that the account, as to minute particulars, 
would be strictly accurate. I would here observe that 
so far as I have read the accounts given by Mr. Liver- 
more, there is no mention of Estelie or Franklin having 
ever spoken a word which to him was audible. 

I have not read very carefully the second work of 
Mr. Owen ; but upon a cursory examination I find it 
contains about forty narratives, five or six of which it 
would be difficult to explain consistently with the theo- 
ries I have given. Several of the naiTatives in this 
work relate occurrences witnessed by Mr. Owen himself, 
not one of which at all conflicts with these theories. 

Of the one hundred narratives contained in Mr. 
Owen's two collections, then, only fourteen or fifteen 
conflict at all with the theories I have stated ; and those 
which decidedly confirm these theories are not only the 
most numerous, but by far the best authenticated. 
The result of this test of the theories is, I think, as 



REVIEW OF NARRATIVES. 401 

satisfactory as could reasonably be expected. And so 
far as my information extends, other narratives conflicting 
with these theories are either of occurrences in darkened 
rooms or from some other cause of doubtful authen- 
ticity. 



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